Sins of the Past
by SiriuslyHooked
Summary: While searching for a way back to Storybrooke, Emma receives a mysterious note that only she can read and she is given the task of protecting someone special. Struggling with her role as the savior, she is unsure of how to protect Riley, a girl with many trust issues and secrets. Her secrets involve the town and her own past with its residents, including a handsome pirate captain.
1. Appearances Are Deceiving

Throughout history, fairy tales held different meanings. To some, they gave a message of hope, a beacon of light in the darkness. The idea of one day finding their prince (or princess) charming or whatever their happy ending could lift them up from their lowest point. Others viewed these stories as cautionary tales, with the underlying message of 'Be careful what you wish for'. While children dressed as these fantastical characters and imagined themselves in a fantasy land filled with dragons, unicorns, and magic, very few have ever opened themselves up to the possibility that these stories are more than just pages in a book, but a reality. It seemed ridiculous to believe in such things as fairies who could grant the deepest desires with a flick of their wands or giants atop a beanstalk. Only the open-minded were able to see flickers of the strange and impossible, making them question if these stories were based on some kind of truth though they kept such ideas to themselves.

A young couple in their twenties was trudging through a dense forest. In between the tall trees, they spotted partially destroyed cottages, bodies torn to shreds, and rubble. Traveling was difficult, due to the overgrown path covered in branches and shrubs. The girl struggled more, having to deal with the long skirt of her dress. Every so often, the skirt would snag on a low branch. If constantly pulling her skirt off of some branch was not bad enough, they also had to suffer from the putrid odor that pervaded the forest. The smell came from the dead bodies left to rot instead of being properly buried, out of fear that they would become the ogres' next victim. She muttered curses under her breath and winced, holding her side. Her corset was cutting deep into her ribs. With each breath, no matter how shallow, she felt the corset tighten another inch.

"Enjoying yourself yet?" asked the man, glancing down at a map in his hand.

"Do I look like I am?"

"A bit of fresh air will do you good. You've been cooped up for much too long."

"Yes, I love the smell of rotting bodies in the morning. When you proposed walking around outside, I wasn't expecting this."

He moved his arm in front of her, stopping her from stepping into a large mud puddle. She bunched up the heavy, floor-length skirt and grabbed his hand to help her across without tripping or falling on her face.

"How can anyone want to dress like this? Corsets and long skirts…it's a nightmare."

"If it's any consolation, you look beautiful. Like a princess."

"I'm not one."

"Perhaps in another life," he replied with a cheeky grin.

The girl rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at humor. Continuing to follow the path, he warned her that they were close to a village and could encounter other people. He had been very vague about the purpose of their journey. All she knew was that they were planning to retrieve something from a purveyor of rare objects, one who she would rather never visit again. To ensure the success of their journey, he enlisted the help of his friends. An enchanted mirror allowed them to communicate with each other in case either group found themselves in danger. She was distracted by a soft rustling sound in the bushes. He quickly lifted up the hood of her cloak, covering her face.

"It could just be ogres," she said, dismissively.

"_Just_ ogres? After all this time, I haven't seen you afraid of anything. I'm not sure if that worries or impresses me. Maybe a bit of both."

"You can be afraid for the both of us. You already act like a guard dog, thinking that I'll shatter into a million pieces if I get so much as a paper cut."

For a moment, sadness flashed through his pale blue eyes. "Apologies for going beyond my job description and caring about your safety."

He barely concealed the hurt in his voice. She immediately regretted her harsh words, knowing that he was only insufferably protective for her own good. If she had her way, it would not take long before she ended up in some kind of danger because of a mixture of her stubbornness, bluntness, and impulsiveness. His tendency to use words instead of rushing into a fight made them polar opposites yet it was their opposite personalities that oddly worked out well.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, R—"

"I agree that it may be ogres but let's not take that risk. I know what you're going to say. No one will recognize you here. Before we came here, what did I tell you?"

"That he could have sent his own men to find it first. It would help if you told me what _it_ is."

"I'll explain when we get to the cottage. Trust me, this journey is worth it. Once we have it, he'll never bother you again."

She walked quietly along the path, keeping an eye out for any ogres or thieves. "Is it the hat?"

"We agreed that we wouldn't speak of that. It's better that it was lost all those years ago. If it fell into the wrong hands, it would be nothing but trouble."

"Technically, it's—"

A booming roar swept through the forest. He pulled out his sword and stood protectively in front of her. Two young boys, no older than five, ran onto the path, screaming for help. Seconds later, the trees were uprooted from the ground and tossed aside as if they weighed as light as a feather. An ogre stomped onto the path, easily tracking the boys because of their screams. He flicked his wrist. The two boys disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, reappearing in front of the girl. She tensed up when they hugged her waist, crying into her skirt. Unsure of what to do, she settled on patting the tops of their heads. The man flicked his wrist once more, conjuring a rope around the ogre's ankle to send it crashing onto the ground. He jabbed his sword into both of its eyes.

"I—is it dead?" asked one of the boys, sniffling.

"I'm not an expert but when something doesn't move, I'm pretty sure it's dead," she replied, subtly trying to get the boys off of her.

The man wiped the blood from his sword. "The compassion in your voice is astounding," he said, sarcastically.

"You can stop crying now. That will attract more ogres."

Her words only upset the boys more and she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. He bent down in front of the two boys. Waving his hand, he conjured two wooden knight chess pieces. She scoffed silently as he told the boys that as long as they held onto the 'enchanted' chess pieces, they would have the courage of ten knights. The boys smiled, stuffing the chess pieces into their pockets. A dark-haired woman, dressed heavily in intricate armor, emerged from the trees. Spotting the dead ogre, she placed her sword back in its sheath and walked over to the two boys. She reprimanded them for sneaking away from a safe haven, insisting that it was dangerous to travel alone. The boys muttered their apologies.

"My name is Mulan. You were the one to kill the ogre?" she asked the man, curiously.

He nodded. "Yes. I've always been good with a sword. I suppose twenty eight years frozen by that curse hasn't affected my skill."

"No matter how good you are, it is not safe to be traveling down this path. I have never seen you in the safe haven before. There's enough room for you and your companion."

"That's a kind offer but my wife and I were hoping to stop by our home…to see if anything was undamaged by the curse. Perhaps after that, we'll visit this safe haven."

The girl scrunched her nose, hearing him refer to her as his wife. "If that is what you wish though I doubt much can be salvaged from your home. The curse destroyed much of this land. The haven is not far from here. It's on an island, a little more than a mile away. Your skills with a sword would be useful."

Once Mulan and the boys disappeared into the forest, the girl grabbed the map from him. "Wife? Really? Bet you enjoyed saying that."

He chased after her. "It was the first thing that came to mind. I was focused on keeping our cover."

"You could've called me your sister or your friend. Can't imagine why you said wife. Maybe we should ditch this little trip and go to the safe haven. We can find Mulan and see if she has a talking dr—"

"Stop it. Jokes like that are going to make us stick out here. Besides, you, more than anyone, should know how exaggerated such tales can be."

By nightfall, they were nowhere near their destination. He refused to use magic to transport them, worried that there were enchantments to prevent intruders. They made camp in a small clearing. As she gathered wood for a fire, he communicated with his friends through the two-way mirror. They had encountered ogres but no other dangers. The plan was to meet near an old well in the morning. She tossed the logs onto the fire.

"Here's an alternative plan. We can go there without them."

"They're on our side. I've known them for a long time. They wouldn't risk their lives if they didn't believe in the cause."

"I don't trust them."

He chuckled. "That doesn't mean much. You barely trust me. It's okay to admit that you need help sometimes."

"I'd rather die."

"Well, I would never let that happen."

The girl shivered, feeling a chill in the air. Taking off his cloak, he placed it over her shoulders. He kept his arms around her for warmth. She listened to the various noises of animals, ogres, and a loud sound that seemed familiar but out of place in this land. The two of them fell asleep, leaning against a tree.

It felt like only a few minutes passed before she was woken up by a loud explosion. From a distance, dark red smoke rose into the sky. The smoke twisted into the shape of a triskelion. She glanced down, expecting to see her head on his shoulder but he was no longer beside her. Standing up, she was knocked back by an invisible shield. The shield surrounded her on all sides, keeping her confined to the small space. Seeing him by the campfire, she banged on the shield repeatedly to get his attention.

"They know we're here," he said, running over to the tree.

"I figured that out when I saw the symbol. They're being a bit obvious."

"It's a warning sign. Not many know its meaning but those who do will keep the rest away."

"And they trapped me so you have to fight them alone. Undo the barrier spell."

"I'm the one who cast it."

"Why the hell would you do that?!"

"Before you accuse me of thinking that you're weak, that's not the reason. If you use too much, he'll sense it and it will lead him right to you. I can't allow that. You need to be safe, no matter what."

"I don't care if he finds me. I'll—"

"I do! When I return, I'll lower the barrier. Don't worry about being spotted by anyone while I'm gone. I cast an invisibility spell as well. If one of his goons searches the camp, they'll only see the tree. You can yell at me as much as you like when I get back."

Silently fuming, she sat on the ground. She was thinking up all sorts of insults to throw at him when he returned to the clearing. Whenever she heard a painful groan or witnessed a burst of light streaming through the trees, she momentarily forgot about her anger. She resorted to throwing pebbles at the shield. Her heart raced when one of the pebbles near the campfire. Reaching her hand out, she realized that the barrier spell had been lifted but a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach discouraged any relief. She hurried through the trees. The man was lying on the ground, his golden blonde hair matted with blood. His hand covered a deep gash along his side, his fingers coated in wet, sticky blood, though that was not the worst of his injuries. She noticed that the veins in his skin, now pale as a ghost, were more pronounced and black.

"I scared them off but—the leader had a trick up his sleeve. One of _his _own design, no doubt. I never even expected it. He threw the powder in my face right before they escaped."

"I can heal you. Just let me—"

"No. I won't let you risk it."

The girl pounded her fist on his chest. "Shut up about risks! If you had let me come with you, this wouldn't have happened."

"It's too late for you to stop it. I can feel the magic nearing my heart. You've dealt with this many times before. You'll get someone new. I'm sure they've already made the arrangements. They'll know that I'm at my end soon."

"I don't want someone new. I don't want you to go. I know that I always get annoyed when you're being too protective or give me those lectures about peace instead of fighting but I don't mean it. I'm not good at…these things. I like your stupid jokes and the way your—stay. Just please stay…for me," she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

His hand cupped her cheek. "This past year has been the happiest of my life. Don't forget why we came here. You need to go on, no matter what. When you get there, you'll understand everything. Find the others. They'll keep you safe."

She leaned her head on his chest, tears trickling down her face. His hand cradled the back of her head, comforting her despite himself being in unimaginable pain. Though there was plenty that both wanted to say, neither of them said a word. His skin slowly crumbled into dust. In the blink of an eye, her head fell onto the soft grass. All that was left were his clothes, his two-way mirror, his sword, and the map. She cried out as a sharp pain coursed through her left arm. Her wrist bore a birthmark in the shape of a dove. The mark was burning bright red but after a moment, it returned to its usual pale brown color. She removed her own cloak, replacing it with his, and walked deeper into the forest, consulting the map.

By the following night, she managed to reach her destination, a shabby cottage near a lake. Its disheveled appearance hid the true decadence and riches inside, all belongings of the purveyor who lived in the cottage. He was known for shady dealings among the people in this land and many others and rarely settled for a low price. Peeking through one of the windows, she looked for the shopkeeper but instead saw a single man sitting at a wooden table. He appeared to be not much older than her though his appearance left something to be desired. The man was certainly handsome, with his unkempt dark hair, scruff, and piercing blue eyes. His mannerisms did not match with his tattered attire, including an oversized cloak and scarf, as though he was putting on an act. The dark substance that lined the bottom of his eyes was a dead giveaway of his true nature. Her eyes rested on his lack of a left hand. She tousled her hair and tugged on the front of her dress, exposing more of her cleavage. Entering the cottage, she panted heavily, pretending to be winded from running. She lowered her cloak, keeping one hand over her heart.

"Apologies, sir. I barely escaped from an ogre and as you can see, I'm not much of a runner. Is the shopkeeper here? I traveled a very long way to meet with him," she said, politely.

"Aye. He's been in the back since I arrived, which was about an hour ago," he replied with a thick accent, slightly raising his voice.

"I'm a very busy man, lad. These old bones need time. I'll be out in a minute," said a wheezy voice from the back room.

"To him, a minute could be weeks."

She giggled at his remark. The man grinned, pulling out a chair beside him.

"You should sit, love. You look as though you're about to faint."

"Thank you but I'll be alright. I was wondering…this may sound terribly rude but do you think I could meet with him first? I need to get back to my family before morning. My husband's very ill and the shopkeeper has the only cure for his ailment."

"My condolences but I'm afraid my own quest comes before any woman, even one as fetching as you."

"That is a shame. I'm sorry about your broken nose."

"My wh—"

The girl slammed his head into the table then kicked out the chair, knocking him to the floor. Her heel dug into his throat. She bent down to him.

"I bet I know what you're thinking now."

The man snarled. "A great many things, starting with how to keep the old man quiet if he sees me bash your head into the table."

"She's only what, 100 pounds? I could easily take her down," she said, imitating his accent.

"I do not sound like that."

"You're right. You could probably flip me over but I have a secret. In the heel of my shoe is a little knife. All I have to do is dig harder and that knife goes straight through your throat. If you don't want that, you'll stay quiet until I'm done. You understand that was a threat, right?"

He merely glared. "I'll take that as a yes."

The back door creaked open. An elderly man, with grey hair and a long, matching beard, stepped out of the room, carrying a wooden box.

"The map to the compass, just as you requested, sir. It is quite the perilous journey. I will remind you that you cannot hold me responsible if you meet your death atop the beanstalk. You've surely heard the stories about the giants. As for the information on the dagger, I'm afraid that comes at a hefty price that someone like yourself will be unable to—"

Seeing the girl, he dropped the box, a fearful expression written all over his face. "Artemis, how nice to see you again. Still a rotten little weasel?"

"Y—you can't be here"

"You, more than anyone, should know that it takes a lot to get rid of me. I suppose you were expecting someone else. Unfortunately, he didn't survive the trip. I'm not here to reminisce. Hand over whatever he came here for…the longer I have to stand in this dirty hovel you call a home, the worse my temper will get and you know all about my horrible temper."

"I'm afraid that will be a problem."

She grabbed a knife from the table. "Seven words that make me want to throw this right through your skull. Say something else to deter me from making you the target for channeling my anger."

"It's not my fault."

"Terrible start."

Artemis explained that barely a week had passed since the curse was broken on the land. When he was unfrozen, he discovered that his cottage had been ransacked. Everyone seemed to break free at the same time, leading him to believe that the intruders were not affected by the curse.

"I know who you mean and you're lying."

"They knew of your plans and stole it before you started this journey. Doesn't it make you wonder if their goal was not to beat you to it, but to get rid of your little friend?"

Her fists clenched. "Where did they go?"

"I've told you all I know. I swear on my life. I am deeply sorry but it was a fool's errand. When your friend sent me a message about his intentions, I implored him to see that such a mission would lead to his death."

"Heartbreaking, truly," said the man.

The girl smashed a chair on the table. He groaned in pain when she pierced his thigh with a broken chair leg. Grabbing Artemis by the throat, she pinned him against the wall. The man attempted to remove the chair leg, struggling with moving it the tiniest fraction of an inch.

"I don't believe you. If they already had it, they would've killed him right away. They showed up here first and you gave it to them. When did they take it?"

"L—last night. I did not want to help them but they are very persuasive. I could not refuse their offer."

"And what was their offer?"

"If I handed it to them, they would give me a magic bean. That alone is worth my entire collection of goods."

"You haven't changed. You're still a coward."

"And you still bring death to those around you. Not everyone can change, little dove."

"Don't ever call me that," she hissed, squeezing his throat.

"I beg of you. Let me live and I will help you retrieve it."

"You'll be too busy to help me, Artemis."

She slit his throat with the knife. He fell to the floor, blood seeping from the wound. Digging through his pocket, she retrieved the magic bean and hid it in her shoe. She left the cottage, wiping the blood from her hand with a handkerchief. Gripping the map tightly, she closed her eyes. A heavy force tackled her to the ground. The man was on top of her, holding a silver hook to her neck. Her eyes flickered to a silver ring on his thumb.

"It is not smart to get in the way of my vengeance. That man had important information for me."

"Sounds like you're expecting an apology. If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I never apologize. You're out of luck," she said, trying to move the hook away from her.

"I know that you made up that story about an ill husband. What man would tolerate a woman such as yourself?"

"Oh, is that a turn off? You do strike me as the type to like women with husbands."

"Give me one good reason to not plunge this hook into your heart and leave you as food for the ogres."

"Because I can tell you about the dagger."

"You expect me to believe a word you say?"

"You act all tough but your eyes show just how desperate you are and you're willing to take even the tiniest bit of information if it helps you to get your vengeance. I may have told a little fib but it was only because I needed something important. You can trust me...on one condition. I'm not talking until you move the hook."

"I'm not that daft, love."

Leaning close to his ear, she reached for a rock behind her. "The dagger is silver and pointy."

The girl smacked the side of his head with the rock. He stumbled backwards from the harsh blow. She let out a loud whistle to attract any nearby ogres and hurried into the forest, climbing a tree. Sitting on the highest branch, she watched the man follow her trail. He slashed one of the trees with the hook, muttering angrily to himself. She smirked as he stormed off and twirled a silver ring between her fingers…

~Killian~

Cora had given him a simple mission: to retrieve an enchanted compass. She had planned to find a portal to the land without magic but wanted the compass as a precaution, not willing to risk that the portal sent them to the wrong land. The shopkeeper did not possess the actual compass, only its location through a map. Luckily, Cora experienced a bit of failure herself. The portal, an enchanted tree, had been burned during a fight but the ashes that remained still retained the magic. To retrieve the compass, she sent him to infiltrate the group of women: Snow White, her distrustful daughter Emma Swan, the sleepy princess Aurora, and the warrior Mulan. He was meant to find out all that he could about the land where the Dark One was now living, called Storybrooke. The Swan girl quickly saw his ruse as a blacksmith and he switched his allegiances, promising to help the women get the compass first if they allowed him to join them in the return to their land. All he cared about was getting vengeance, not who accompanied him on the journey.

Killian was leading them through the forest, having memorized the map. His hands had been tied together with rope. The women may have allowed him to live but they did not trust him.

"How much farther?" asked Swan.

"It's over the ridge at the end of this path."

"And how do we know Cora isn't waiting on the other side of that ridge to kill us?"

"If she wanted you dead, she would've done it by now. Besides, I'm plenty capable of doing the deed myself. My hands may be tied together but it doesn't mean I can't fight. I told you that I would lead you to the compass and that is what I'm doing."

Aurora jumped at the sound of a loud _crack_. "W—what was that?"

Swan stepped away from the path, the other women following her. Mulan shoved him forward, keeping her sword against his back. On the other side of the trees, there was an abandoned village. Three men were standing around a gnarled tree. A girl was tied to one of the branches, hanging several feet above the ground. Killian recognized her as the liar from the cottage. He had not forgotten that night, how she broke his nose and tricked him into believing that she had information on the Dark One's dagger. For a brief moment, he glanced at his thumb, which was missing a ring. The little thief had stolen it before disappearing into the forest. One of the men, very burly with scar over his left eye, conjured a ball of fire in his hand.

"Start talking or I'll char off all that pretty hair"

"Can't we just kill her?" said another man, with graying dark brown hair, in a frustrated tone.

"Not until she tells us everything. You know our orders," he replied, appearing to be the leader of the group.

"I already told you. I don't remember anything. I slipped on a rock and poof. All my memories of the past few days are gone," said the girl.

The burly man glared. "What did he want with the box?"

"Who?"

"You know who I'm speaking of, you insolent girl. Enough lies."

"But I can't lie. I'm physically incapable of it. If I try to lie, I'll burst into flames. It's a nasty curse."

Snow was pointing an arrow at the burly man. As she pulled back on the bow, Killian pushed it down.

"What are you doing? We can't leave her there. They're going to hurt her."

"I assume all three have magic and unless one of you can wield magic of your own, you stand no chance."

"I have fought wielders of magic before," said Mulan, confidently.

"Oh, have you? That's wonderful but three at once? It's a death sentence. Not that I value your lives but I do value mine and I would like to live past today."

"Okay, I'm not siding with him but…he has a point. We can't just storm in there. Maybe we can distract them," suggested Swan.

The four women discussed how to rescue the seemingly innocent girl. Killian resisted every urge to propose that the girl deserved her fate. Such a remark would gain their ire, since they knew nothing about the true nature of this girl, and they would be unwilling to let him accompany them to Storybrooke. He listened to the men interrogate her. They asked the same questions over and over again, from _What did he want? _ to _Who else is part of his rebellion?_. The girl continued to act clueless, refusing to answer any of their questions. Though all three men appeared to be quite bloodthirsty and willing to use violence to get their answers, only one, who was not much older than the girl and thin as a pole, suggested a more peaceful method of questioning.

"That's your best idea? Shoot an arrow to spook them into running off?" he asked, overhearing their plan.

"You got a better one?" asked Swan, crossing her arms.

"Yes, we continue on our journey to the compass."

"We're not leaving an innocent girl to die. That one guy with the scar is practically ready to chop her in half with a sword."

"Damon, stay with her. We'll ask him what to do with her if she refuses to cooperate. Keep your eye on her. Reinforce the barrier as well," he heard.

The burly man stabbed the girl, leaving the knife in her shoulder. "Hold onto that for now. Maybe it'll convince you to talk."

He entered one of the cottages with the dark-haired man, leaving the youngest with the girl. The boy paced around, holding his hands up as he cast a barrier spell. No objects, not even a barrage of arrows or the strongest sword, could pass through the invisible shield. The girl whistled at him.

"Hey. Stop ignoring me. I know you can hear me. I have to tell you something."

"You're finally willing to tell us what you were doing here?"

"No, it's not about that. Something else but I have to whisper it. It's really important. If you don't listen, your boss won't be happy. Think of how impressed he'll be if you hear this secret. You might even get to meet him in person. That would be amazing, huh?"

"If it's a secret, why would you tell me?"

"Have you been listening to me? I'm certifiably insane. I can barely keep my thoughts straight. Half the time, I even forget my own name. It's not like I can hurt you from here. I'm tied up. What can I do, kick you? That won't help me much."

Hesitantly, the boy walked over to her. He was at eye level with her and warned the girl that he was not afraid to use magic.

"I'm going to kill you."

The boy scoffed. "I'm not in the mood for your games."

"It's hardly a game. I'm being serious. I am going to kill all three of you in the most horrid ways imaginable. After I tear you apart, I'll string up your bodies so the ogres can play with them like little toys and when the crows start to peck out your eyes, I'll make sure that you're just alive enough to feel every bit of that pain."

Every word of her threat was said in a sweet, polite tone. It was even more unnerving than if she had screamed at him. Though he put on a brave face, he seemed to be very anxious. The girl pouted.

"Oh, don't make that face. You did kill my friend so it's only fair that I get to return the favor. Tit for tat."

"That's not going to work. You can't do a thing while you're tied up. I suggest you start cooperating or you won't make it out of here alive."

He returned to casting the barrier spell. She count back from thirty loudly, breaking his concentration.

"Stop it."

"Stop what? I'm just counting. Is it scary that I'm counting down the seconds to your death? Twenty eight."

"You don't scare me. You're bluffing. Shut up so I can finish the spell."

"Twenty two. You strike me as the begging type. That's my favorite. Which do you prefer? Head or heart? Head's a bit quicker. You won't even feel it."

"I'd prefer for you to shut up," he hissed, irritated.

"Someone's snippy. Five."

"Five? You were just on twenty."

"I hate counting. It's such a long wait. Sometimes, I like to jump ahead."

"For the last time, stop or—"

A pair of shackles fell from his cloak. Confused, he picked them up from the ground. The shackles glowed silver and clamped down on his wrists. Any spell he attempted was not able to break them. The girl tugged on the rope, lifting herself higher. Grabbing the knife from her shoulder, she cut herself loose.

"I remember you now. Two years ago…it's that same voice. It's just as irritating now. That whiny, pleading little voice. How can anyone listen to it?"

"Please let me go."

"Shut up and walk. Those shackles inhibit magic."

She kept the knife pressed into his side, forcing him towards the cottage. Swan stepped out from their hiding spot among the trees.

"Emma, wait. We can't get past the barrier," said Snow.

"There has to be some way to sneak past it. She'll get herself killed."

"And we'll find one but—"

"No, we have to go now."

"Emma, are you alright?"

"I just—I got this weird feeling like we need to help her."

"Best to ignore those feelings, Swan. They tend to get people in trouble," said Killian.

"I don't care. We're—"

Suddenly, a dove landed on her shoulder. A piece of parchment was attached to its leg.

"It's a message. Perhaps there were more survivors from the safe haven," said Mulan.

Swan untied the parchment. The parchment was completely blank on both sides. Aurora suggested that it was a trick by Cora and the parchment contained dark magic to impede their journey. Swan was staring at the parchment, wide-eyed.

"Emma?" asked Snow, curiously.

"You don't see what's on here?"

"It's blank. There's—you see writing?"

"It's addressed to me but I don't…Aurora's right. It's probably some trick," she replied, crumpling up the parchment.

"What does it say?"

"Whoever wrote it knows that I broke the curse. They said that I needed to protect someone."

"Who?"

"No clue. They said I'm like some protector and whoever it is will find me. I got this note because the protector they used to have…he died. Why the hell would anyone want me to protect—it doesn't even say who or what I'm protecting her from or—"

"We'll figure that out in Storybrooke. Don't worry."

Swan nodded and placed the parchment in her coat pocket. They heard sounds of a struggle inside the cottage. The barrier was no longer invisible, now shimmering like ripples in an ocean. Two men and a woman hurried past the barrier, stopping in front of the cottage. If they were able to break through the barrier, one of them was able to use magic. Swan was about to step past the barrier herself until Snow grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

The cottage door opened and the burly man stepped out, his hands covered in blood. He wiped off the blood with a handkerchief.

"What happened?" asked one of the woman, her white blonde hair cut short like a boy's.

"She broke free. Damon and Preston are dead. I managed to kill her."

"You what? You weren't supposed to—"

"Why not? She came at me and I defended myself. She deserved it."

"Those weren't your orders. We spoke to him shortly before we arrived here. He said—"

He interrupted the taller man. "What did he say? I'm curious. Did he call you double crossers who stabbed their friends in the back?"

"What's wrong with you, Bryant? You don't sound like yourself."

"I don't? I think I have a theory why."

His face began to change shape, losing its harsh features, and he became much shorter. Killian's eyes widened as he shifted into the girl. He never suspected that she was capable of magic. The three strangers were silent, the fear evident on their faces.

Killian noticed that the women beside him shared the same surprised expression. "Appears she didn't need your help, Swan."

"Y—you're alive. Good. We were worried," said the other man, his voice quivering.

"Were you?"

"Of course. You have the wrong idea. We were merely pretending to be on their side…all to—"

"I'm not an idiot. They got to it first and the only way that's possible if they had someone telling them about the plan. If you want to see your friends, they're hanging from a tree out back. If you listen really hard, you can hear them begging."

"You don't understand. We never meant to betray him. This plan was going to fail from the start. He was being foolish. Surely you heard a voice in the back of your head, telling you this was a suicide mission."

"You're right. I'm hearing it right now. Do you know what it's telling me?"

The three strangers were lifted into the air. They clutched their throats, struggling to breathe, and were dangling over the edge of a cliff.

"It wants me to drop you three little snakes off this cliff. Should I listen to it? I mean, you think the voices in your head were right. Why should I ignore mine?"

"Don't. We were wrong. We shouldn't have—he wouldn't want you to do this. We can make up for our mistake," pleaded the woman.

"You're right. What good would it do if I just let you fall to your deaths? I've thought of something much more satisfying."

The girl retrieved a magic bean from the inside of her shoe . Killian remembered hearing the shopkeeper tell her that he exchanged the bean for a special item. She threw the bean in the ground, creating a portal.

Her dark brown eyes glinted with mischief. "I don't need it. I saved it for an occasion like this because I knew I'd run into you three. How does this sound? I'm going to send you back to your boss. Don't look so scared. You should be happy that you'll be seeing him. You can tell him all about how you failed to get the box. How do you think he'll react?"

"He'll kill us."

"No, that's not his style. I bet he'll torture you for weeks, maybe months. He'll want to tear you apart piece by piece and right before you die, he'll put you back together and start all over. If anyone else had taken it, he'd just turn you into toads but he won't be happy that I got my hands on it. Before you think that ratting me out can save yourselves, our mutual friend made sure you couldn't tell him a thing about me…not even my name."

"We don't need to tell him. All that you've done here…he'll trace it back to you," said the tall man.

"Very possible but I'd have to use my own magic for that to work. I borrowed some from your friends. Have a lovely trip."

All three were thrown through the portal. As it sealed shut, the girl clicked the heels of her silver shoes together three times and vanished in a cloud of silver smoke…


	2. Welcome to Storybrooke

_The council has considered all possible options and decided that this was the best one to ensure your safety. You may believe that you are capable of taking care of yourself but the council is unwilling to take such a risk, especially with the special day arriving soon. It is imperative to trust the council's decisions on these matters as in the past, the council has always ensured your protection. The council expects you to arrive at your new home by the end of the week or there will be consequences. You have dealt with such consequences in the past and as you are now older, the council will not show any leniency. Be on your best behavior and keep that temper under control._

Riley scowled at the same message printed on five separate pieces of parchment. She crumpled up the parchment into one giant ball and chucked it into a trash bin by her dresser. Her bedroom was a complete mess, as though it had been struck by a tornado. Several suitcases laid open on her bed, hastily packed with clothes, shoes, and other essentials. Most of her belongings were strewn about the floor, piled high like small mountains. Stuffing her boots in one of the suitcases, she held a piece of toast in her mouth. Ever since her return from the Enchanted Forest, she had been dreading the day that she was given a new guardian. She rarely accepted the latest choice, finding them to either be morons, exceedingly arrogant, hopeless, or a combination of the three.

The council claimed that their decisions were best but it did not take long for her to find that the guardians were in over their heads, unable to handle the responsibilities of the job. Many of them never knew that from the moment they received their letter, a binding contract was enacted, the only way out being death. As soon as she received the name of her newest guardian and their location, she spent days collecting all kinds of information on them. The research helped her to prepare for the inevitable disappointment.

Picking up a pile of jackets, she heard a soft _clatter_. A golden, dove-shaped locket was on the floor. Inside the locket was an inscription: _Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness._

"Seriously? Do you find this stuff in fortune cookies? When you come back, I'll—"

A tear trickled down her cheek. She quickly wiped away the tear and snapped her leather bracelet against her wrist a dozen times. Words began to appear on the mirror of her vanity table, with the message _Quit dawdling, child. You should already have arrived days ago. _

"I'm not a child," she hissed, clenching her fists.

After she finished packing, she threw the suitcases in the trunk of her car. The drive took longer than expected, thanks to the town not being on any map or GPS. She stifled a laugh as she passed a _Welcome to Storybrooke _sign. The town seemed nice and quaint, a stark contrast to the big cities she had lived in over the years. While many would appreciate the quiet, she found it suspicious that the streets were practically empty, except for bits of debris and fallen telephone poles. She parked at a place called _Granny's Bed and Breakfast. _Seeing no one at the front desk, she grabbed a book from the back office that contained the list of residents. A smirk tugged at her lips as she glanced over the name _Ethan Burke. _She wrote her name in the book and left money on the desk. Taking one of the keys, she brought her suitcases up to the room then decided to explore the town.

Passing by a diner, she overheard two women complain about the damage done to their houses. A wraith had wreaked havoc on the town, causing much destruction.

"We could at least mention it to the sheriff."

"Not now. She's at the cemetery. I hope she deals with that wicked woman once and for all."

Riley walked towards the cemetery, absentmindedly playing with her locket. A small crowd of people were gathered around a grave. Leaning against a tree, she listened as a woman in her late twenties, her short dark hair covered by a beret, gave the eulogy. _Archibald Hopper _was written across the tombstone. She typed the name into her phone. A man with thinning red hair and glasses popped up on the screen, information written across the bottom of the picture.

"Cricket turned therapist. I doubt that's the weirdest thing here."

Scanning the crowd, she spotted a blonde woman with her arm around a young boy, no older than ten. Riley did not take her eyes off the woman as she consoled him. She tapped her phone again, bringing up an image of the woman.

"Emma Swan. Foster kid, bailbondsperson, gave birth at 18 and gave him up for adoption, moved here after her son Henry found her, and broke the curse over the town. Also known as the savior. These names get dumber every time."

After far too much hugging, at least in her opinion, the group left for a gathering at Mary Margaret's apartment. "I never liked funerals. Too depressing."

Recognition and shock flashed through both women's eyes. Henry looked at her curiously, keeping a tight grip on the dog leash around his hand.

"I'm sorry. Have we met?" asked the man with them, his arm around the dark-haired woman's shoulders.

"If we had, I doubt you'd forget it."

Emma moved Henry behind her, acting like a protective mother. "Whatever you think you're doing here, don't. Storybrooke isn't part of whatever problem you have and this town has plenty enough to deal with already besides people like you."

"People like me?"

"Someone willing to kill people or send them to their deaths through a portal."

Riley remembered her last day in the Enchanted Forest. Her plan to retrieve a certain item hit a little snag, leading to her being captured by the men who killed her friend, and she needed to get creative with her escape. When she was toying with her captors, she thought that someone had been watching her behind the trees.

"I thought I heard someone there that day. I'm guessing you didn't like the show. Everyone has different tastes. I'm glad you actually made it back. I thought you'd be stuck in that shithole for much longer, Emma."

"How do you know my name?" she asked, warily.

"A little birdie told me in a note."

"A note?"

"Our condolences for your loss…blah, blah, blah…your newest guardian is Emma Swan," she said in a deep, gruff voice.

"You haven't been in Storybrooke all this time. You drove into town," said the man.

"Well, it's obvious you didn't marry him for his brains," she said to the dark-haired woman, who looked affronted by her remark.

Emma refused to believe that Riley was the subject of the note she received in the Enchanted Forest, mostly due to her age. She had been expecting someone much younger or at least a helpless, innocent person. When she questioned how Riley left the Enchanted Forest, Riley muttered a vague answer about knowing a man with magic beans. The other woman and the man seemed unnerved that Riley knew their true identities and about the curse that brought the town to this land while they knew nothing about her, not even her name.

"Trust me, I didn't want you either but it's not my decision."

"Then whose is it? You can just tell them that I don't want the job and you can handle yourself."

"You didn't read the fine print at the bottom, did you? It's a binding contract. If you refuse the job, you die."

Henry tugged on Emma's coat sleeve, panicking at the idea of losing her. "Emma."

"She's bluffing, kid."

"Am I? Go ahead and try. It'll either end up with you being right and I'll leave or your family will be planning your funeral for tomorrow…maybe in about an hour if they just want to toss you in a shallow grave. Not sure how attached they are to you yet…"

"Fine. Let's say I believe you. Why am I protecting you if you can use magic? You were able to defend yourself just fine that day."

"I'm not supposed to use it. Little spells are fine but the more power I use, it's like a giant sign in the sky that says 'Come get me'. You should know that all spells leave a magical trace."

"And what am I protecting you from?"

"That's not your concern. I'll tell you when you deserve to know but you probably won't last more than a week so the details don't matter."

Only Henry was willing to give her a chance. The three adults were suspicious of Riley, especially her magical abilities outside of Storybrooke. Magic had not worked in the town itself until the day Emma broke the curse. She listened to them argue over letting her stay in the town. Only Henry and Mary Margaret defended her, though for different reasons. Mary Margaret did not want to risk Emma's life while Henry pleaded with Emma that as the savior, it was part of her job to help people in trouble. Though Riley was not part of the curse that brought the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest to Storybrooke, he considered her to be like them.

Emma let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, I'll…help you out. We should get a few things out of the way first. Your name?"

"Riley."

"Riley what?"

"Renato. Should I spell it for you so you remember it when you do that background check?"

"I don't trust you one bit."

"That's the first smart thing you've said."

"I'm the sheriff in this town."

"Sheriff? What is this, the old west?"

"You won't hurt anyone. I know what you're capable of so—"

"You really don't but okay. I swear to be a good little girl, except in the privacy of my bedroom," she said, winking at David.

"Don't do that."

"I'll follow your stupid rules. By the way, you should fix the barrier by the town line. It's pretty weak if I didn't even need to lift a finger to drive past it. I'd do a little more than a basic barrier though…to make sure that you're being a good guardian and protecting me."

Riley sensed a bit of unease from her and grabbed her wrist. Delving into her mind, she learned that Emma only discovered her magical abilities a couple days ago, shortly before returning to Storybrooke. Emma had practically no experience, besides using a dreamcatcher to see memories. In the past, Riley's guardians all possessed magic but she was never given one that was a complete amateur.

"You can't even do magic."

"I can do it. I just found out awhile ago and I'm not an expert yet but—wait, how did you know that?"

"Forget it. I'll put up the barrier myself."

Riley nodded, only half-listening, when Mary Margaret gave her the address to her apartment. She walked down to the town line, muttering to herself. Her anger over Emma being her guardian was slowly reaching a boiling point. The council insisted that she was the best option but Riley thought it was a sign of them giving up on her. If they wanted to show that they had little faith in her surviving, they could have given her a knife and a note that said _We wish you the best_.

"You can't be serious. She's not even—that's the savior? I've seen babies with more talent. Is that why you picked her? You think it's pointless? You want me to just accept the inevitable."

"Do you talk to yourself a lot?"

Henry was standing behind her, the dalmation by his side. "What are you doing?"

"I didn't want you to walk around alone. Pongo didn't either. With Archie dead, who knows who my mom could attack next?"

"You think Emma killed him?"

"No, I meant Regina. She adopted me after—"

"I don't need your life story. Just stay there."

Riley found it difficult to concentrate on the spell with Henry constantly asking her questions. He wanted to know everything about her, from the origin of her magical abilities to her home. A beam of the golden light rose from the road and disappeared into the cloudy sky. The light passed over the entire town, covering it like a dome. His questions continued all the way to Mary Margaret's apartment. In between the constant questions, he told her little things about the town.

He followed her down the street like an eager puppy wagging its tail. "Were you born with magic or did someone teach it to you? If they taught you, how? I always thought magic couldn't work here but then Mr. Gold brought it to the town so I thought it only worked—"

"Stop with the questions."

"S—sorry. Talking a lot keeps me distracted. I don't like to think about what happened to Archie," he replied, looking near tears.

"Don't start crying. It makes you look weak and no matter how old you are, the weak get picked off first."

"You must be used to losing people by now. Emma told me about the note. She said the person who used to protect you…is gone and that's why she got the job. Don't you miss him?"

"No," she said, stopping herself from snapping her leather bracelet.

"Not even a little?"

They were standing outside an apartment building. "There's no point in missing him. Death is part of life. We live, we die, we rot in the ground while creepy crawlies eat us up…and missing someone doesn't bring them back. It's best to just forget about them and move on with your life."

Mary Margaret's small, rustic apartment was packed with people from the funeral. The purpose of the gathering was to remember the deceased but they were more concerned with the stranger at Henry's side. Sensing their confusion, David made up a terrible cover story that Emma and Mary Margaret brought her back with them from the Enchanted Forest. He explained her sudden appearance as Riley needing time to adapt to the differences between the two lands. She expected at least one person to question such a flimsy lie but their friends either blindly believed every word out of their mouths or were brainless sheep incapable of much thought. Emma gave her a subtle look that said _play along or else_. A group of boys, closer to her age, offered to help Riley with adjusting to Storybrooke.

"I think she's got it pretty much figured out," said Emma.

Riley bit her bottom lip. "Actually, I wouldn't mind the help. I'm a bit uncomfortable with some things…like the clothes. They're very different here. Is this skirt supposed to be shorter?" she asked, pulling up on her houndstooth printed skirt that stopped far above her knees.

Beneath Emma's fake laugh, a fire was burning in her eyes. "It takes awhile to get used to the clothes but trust me, you look great," said a boy with well-coiffed dark brown hair and a sweet smile.

"Thank you…"

"I'm Ethan."

"I need a minute alone with Riley."

"We'll be over there. We can tell you everything you need to know about Storybrooke," offered Alec, a blonde-haired boy who reminded her very much of David, pointing towards one of the couches.

As the boys walked away, Emma's smile fell from her face. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"I'm supposed to be clueless about this world."

"You did that on purpose."

"You really think the worst of me, Emma. I was just making sure they believed David's story. If anything, it was more believable because of my acting."

"I'm not taking my eyes off you for a second. No one can know how you really got here. They're already panicking enough over Archie's death. I bet you'd love to spook them but don't."

"Been here barely a day and you already know one of my favorite hobbies. Doesn't make up for your lack of talent but it is impressive."

Keeping up her act, she pretended to be amazed by the simplest things about this world. She learned that the boys were all highly skilled knights. Most of them allied themselves with David and Mary Margaret back in the Enchanted Forest. The others, including Ethan, were members of Regina's guard, though they were forced into her service by their own fathers, men far more willing to do her bidding. After the curse broke over Storybrooke, they struggled with their two identities and the lack of a need for a knight in a world where guns were preferred over swords. With Regina in hiding after the murder of Archie, David suggested for them to train in woods, to prepare themselves if she attacked the town.

"It's hard when swords aren't as abundant as they were back home but I don't think we need to worry about Regina," said Ethan.

"Speak for yourself. At least you were part of her guard…she trusts you. She'd char the rest of us until we were nothing but a pile of ash. Don't sugarcoat it for her, Ethan. Riley knows what a monster she is," replied Alec.

She shook her head. " Never met her."

"Lucky for you. I'm sure you've heard plenty of stories."

"Yea, an old friend told me about her when we were hanging out in my place in Salem."

The boys looked at her, confused. "Salem? That's a town in this land," said Charles, a very muscular boy the same age as her and the youngest of the knights.

"Someone knows their geography. I'll let you in on a little secret. I didn't get here by some portal in a well. I just drove right past that town line."

"Wh—"

"Shh, don't talk. Don't even move a muscle."

All of them were sitting on the couches, completely still and as if their mouths were glued shut. "Good. You heard me right. David just made up that story. I'm not some charity case that Emma and her mother that's weirdly the same age brought back with them. Emma wanted me to keep that quiet but I think it's useful, for me, if you know the truth. You're going to forget everything I just told you until I want you to remember it again. Nod so I know you understand."

A glazed over look in their eyes, they nodded simultaneously. She smiled at Charles.

"It was a joke. You almost believed me for a second."

He snapped out of his daze. "Guess we're a little paranoid lately. When the curse broke, we thought we'd either go back home or we could at least leave Storybrooke. That won't happen unless we want to lose our old memories."

"All magic comes with a price," said Alec, putting on an accent and making a flamboyant gesture with his hands.

The boys sniggered under their breath. On the other side of the room, Emma was attempting to comfort Henry, who was moping on a bed and staring out the window. Leroy, who was one of the seven dwarves, questioned her and Mary Margaret about returning to the Enchanted Forest. He was not the only one curious about journeying back to their home, not out of fear of Regina but of outsiders discovering the truth about the town. Ruby shared his concerns, pointing out that people would not react well to magic or a werewolf like herself.

"Let's not worry about what-ifs. No one is here," assured Emma.

"Yet. Maybe they come, maybe they don't. That doesn't change the fact that while we might enjoy things like penicillin, we're a bit homesick."

"I agree with him, Emma. What would you do if someone who wasn't from here drove past that town line? It could have happened already," said Riley, feigning concern.

Her right eye twitched slightly, holding back a glare. "You shouldn't be worried about something like that, Riley. It won't happen. We're all safe. "

"It doesn't seem very safe, to be honest. Between a wraith, you being sucked through a portal, Ruby getting framed for that murder and almost being killed by an angry mob, and Regina killing Archie..."

"You can trust me. There's no reason to get paranoid over some crazy idea."

Mary Margaret diffused the tension by taking a tray of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Emma walked towards Riley, looking like she was about to give a lecture like an angry parent. Riley looped her arm through Ethan's and batted her eyelashes.

"Ethan, I'm feeling a little tired. Could you walk with me back to the inn? You mentioned that you had a room there too and I'm nervous about walking around this strange place by myself."

"Sure. Let me grab my coat."

He retrieved his coat from the closet. "Riley, can we talk?" asked Emma, struggling to maintain a polite tone.

"I was about to leave with Ethan. It's been a long day. Can it wait?"

"No."

"Well, anything you need to say? I'm sure you can say it in front of him."

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Emma nodded. "Just wanted to make sure that she was okay. She was a little shaken up by what Leroy was saying."

She tensed up as Riley hugged her. "I'm sorry about that. My paranoia gets the better of me sometimes but if you think the town is safe, I believe you."

"One little slip up from me and they all go into a panic. Remember that," she whispered in Emma's ear.

Riley left the apartment with Ethan, feeling three pairs of eyes burning into the back of her skull…

~Killian~

Killian was standing on a roof across from Rumplestiltskin's shop. It was only a matter of time before the second part of his plan was complete. He peered through the front windows with his spyglass, enjoying the sight of the shop in shambles. Smee had left quite the mess, with broken glass and objects scattering the floor. Moments latter, he arrived with his precious Belle. Killian smirked, watching him open the safe behind a portrait on the wall and the slow realization dawning on his face that something important was missing from the shop. Hearing footsteps behind him, he lowered the spyglass. Smee, his usual red cap resting lopsided on his head, was holding a tattered shawl.

"You have it, Mr. Smee?"

"What is it, cap'n?"

Placing the spyglass down on a ledge, he grabbed the shawl. An aching sensation tugged at his heart as his fingers brushed over each tiny stitch. He pushed aside any sentimental feelings, reminding himself that he retrieved the shawl for his revenge against Rumplestiltskin, not for a token of the past.

"It's the end of the crocodile's hope. Now he's trapped here…if what you told me is true," he told Smee, smugly.

"I wouldn't lie. He took me to the town line, poured a potion over my hat, and when he pushed me over, I still remembered my past self. It seemed important that the hat was something special to me. Perhaps he's hoping to leave town, now that the curse is broken."

"Much more than that, I gather. He—"

Killian heard a familiar giggle. Glancing down below, he spotted a girl passing by the bakery. In an instant, he recognized her face and like an instinct, his hand clenched into a tight fist. He would not soon forget such an infuriating person: her childish way of mocking him and an arrogance that rivaled his own. He disregarded his anger as a single thought crept up in the back of his mind. The girl was no longer in the Enchanted Forest, but walking around this town. Her attire was similar to what other women wore in this land, her scandalously short skirt and low-cut blouse enough to make the least modest woman in the Enchanted Forest faint from shock.

"Mr. Smee, do you recognize that lass?"

He peered over the roof. "Can't say I do, which is strange. She isn't someone who would blend into a crowd."

"Quite right."

"Why do you ask? Do you know her, cap'n?"

"She reminded me of someone but I was mistaken."

His eyes did not leave the girl as she walked down the cobblestone path, sipping a drink. A thin boy with short dark brown hair chased after her, panting heavily. He explained to her that payment was required to purchase items. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stack of colored papers with markings.

"Sorry. I'm still getting used to all this," she said, her tone reminiscent of when she was toying with her captors in the Enchanted Forest.

"It's okay. For someone who just showed up here a few days ago, you knew a lot about lattes. I guess it's a girl thing. N—not that I meant that as…I was just—forget all of that, Riley. Coming back here through a portal with Emma and Mary Margaret was hard enough and I'm not helping with my terrible attempts at conversation."

Learning her name only raised Killian's suspicions. If she had been brought to this town by the dark curse and given new memories, it would be understandable but according to the boy, she was a recent visitor. He knew for a fact that she did not travel back through the portal at the lake. As the boy rambled on, she flicked her wrist. He stopped outside a dress shop, blinking several times. His smile was replaced with a baffled expression.

"Wait, what do you mean you drove into town? Why would Emma lie?"

"Because if you knew the truth, you'd all freak out about someone accidentally showing up here."

"But why would you come to Storybrooke?"

"It's a long, boring story."

"Well, we need to tell everyone. They were right to worry about—why are you laughing?"

Riley giggled, looking amused by his worrisome babbling. "It's just ironic. You two couldn't be more opposite."

"Who?"

"Not important. You're no fun when you're a nag. You can forget again," she said, once again flicking her wrist.

The boy blinked and pointed at the dress shop. "So that's—sorry, what was I saying?"

Riley had clearly put him under a spell. With a simple flick of her wrist, she could make him remember anything she told him and then forget it all at her command.

"You were telling me how everyone hangs out at the pub on weekends. I really like these…what do you call them again?" she asked, putting on an innocent tone.

"Lattes."

"This land is so strange. I don't know how I'll ever get used to it."

"Cap'n, did you see that? She used magic," said Smee, surprised.

"Aye, that she did. A young little witch isn't our concern," replied Killian, his eyes following her until she disappeared around the corner.

"What do we do now?"

"_We_ will do nothing. I, on the other hand, will be waiting to skin my crocodile. If I require your services, I'll find you, Mr. Smee. Go about your business as though it's any other day."

"A—apologies but what if the Dark One learns that I was involved in this plan? It wouldn't take him long to put the pieces together."

"You say you're able to leave because of your enchanted cap. Go if you wish. I have unfinished business."

Smee suggested that both of them could leave the town since Killian never suffered the effects of the curse. Killian refused to abandon his sole mission for traveling to this new land, his need for revenge outweighing any doubts. Clutching the shawl, he headed back towards his ship…

~Riley~

Ethan had just left her apartment, receiving a text from David about a training session in the woods. He promised to visit her after the training session, wanting to introduce her to other people their age and the local hangouts. With the snap of her fingers, her once empty room soon filled with her belongings. Around Ethan, she pretended to have nothing, except clothes supposedly given to her by Emma and Mary Margaret.

Riley cast a spell on a full-length mirror hanging on the wall. The reflection of her bed was replaced with an image of a burning manor. Dark smoke rose from the charred remains of the top floor. A dark-haired boy, only a couple years older than herself, with a X-shaped scar on his left cheek was standing outside the manor. Anger flickered in his emerald green eyes. Waving his hand, he attempted to douse the flames but his spells only worsened the fire. A girl in her twenties appeared beside the motorcycle behind him. She was one of those types who tried too hard to look tough, with the pink streaks in her platinum blonde hair and clothes straight out of a 'rocker chick' cliché. Her eyebrow piercing was a new, ridiculous addition.

"I'm sorry this had to happen, Seth," she said, her high-pitched, childlike voice clashing with her 'tough' persona.

He turned around, his nostrils flaring at the mere sight of her. "This was all a trap. You tricked me."

"I'll admit that I did a little but…I'm just doing what you taught me. You told me to look out for myself."

"I swore that I would protect you from any of their threats!"

"And you lied! You only care about one thing…well, I should say two since you usually only care about yourself. You'll do anything to protect your stupid sister. You should be thanking me. If I didn't tell them about what was in there, you would've gotten it and then have a huge target on your back."

"This had nothing to do with you, Elena."

"I was protecting you. I thought you were finally beginning to see how pointless it is to protect her when you saved me that day…but I was wrong. It'll always be you, her, Sebastian, or any other siblings you have left. Being on her side will only lead to your own end. If you were smart, you'd reach out to one of his contacts and tell him where to find her. End this now before he decides to take out his anger on you. If you're too much of a coward to do it, then I will. It won't be too hard to—"

He threw her against the motorcycle, his hand wrapped tightly around her throat. "S—Seth."

"Don't ever threaten her! You're right. It will always be me or them. Family above all, especially pathetic girls who try too hard for a guy's attention. I only showed interest in you because I wanted something from you…and I already got it. I am no coward. The true coward is the man you're all so fearful of but let me be clear. In any world, the only person you should fear is me. I may have lost what was inside that house but I have plenty of time to come up with a new plan. You won't be around to tell anyone about it, I'm afraid."

Seth banged her head against the seat of the motorcycle, knocking her unconscious. Taking out his phone, he dialed a number. Her own phone began to vibrate on the dresser. Declining the call, she opened the top drawer, which contained a wooden black chest with runic markings etched along the sides. She pricked her finger with a hair pin and as drops of blood fell onto the chest, it emitted a faint silver glow. The chest popped open, revealing four thin black daggers. Each of the handles bore a marking of a snake eating its tail. One of the daggers was different from the rest, its tip with a reddish tint. She picked up the dagger as Seth left voicemail after voicemail.

A shrill caw snapped her out of her own thoughts. Closing the chest, she looked at a raven on the windowsill. The raven nipped her finger.

"I thought I'd find you here, old friend. You must have plenty to say after all these years. Give me something good."

She listened to its series of caws. "Really? That's certainly interesting. Show me."

Riley followed the raven down to the docks. Though it only appeared to have several fishing boats, she noticed seagulls were perching on nothing but air. She stepped closer to the edge of the docks, her boot tapping against something hard.

"He's not clever enough for this. He's got a partner…one who's handy with a cloaking spell. I'm sure someone else would love to know about this. Why don't you go tell him too?"

Riley carefully walked up the invisible steps. Seconds later, she was on the deck of a pirate ship. She explored every part of the ship, hiding when a suspiciously alive Archie hurried past her. He was whispering to himself about finding Mr. Gold. Opening a door at the end of the corridor, she walked into the most extravagant room, filled with books and other trinkets. Mermaid statues adorned the walls. She flipped through an old, leather-bound book about the sea. Between two pages was a tiny wooden whistle. She picked up the whistle, her fingers shaking. Her thumb brushed against an etching of a dove along the bottom. As she was about to blow into it, she heard a scuffle above deck. She hid the whistle in her pocket and placed the book back on the shelf. To keep her thoughts elsewhere, she opened a cabinet, finding enough bottles of rum to supply a bar. She grabbed one of the bottles and cast a spell on a mirror by the bed.

The mirror showed the one-handed man from the Enchanted Forest confronting a girl, who was holding a tattered shawl. He told her to give him the shawl, a slight threatening tone in his voice. Another man, middle-aged with greying brunette hair, walked onto the ship, dressed in a crisp black suit. He limped along, leaning on a cane. Riley was not fooled by his weak appearance. The bottle in her hand shattered into pieces. Fixing the bottle with a quick spell, she ignored the shallow cuts across her palm, her eyes on him as he beat the dark-haired man with his cane. She snapped her bracelet enough times that her wrist was redder than a tomato.

"This isn't the right time. I have to wait…stay in control. He can't know yet. No, I know he wouldn't remem—it doesn't matter. Shut up. We can't stray from the plan," she whispered to herself.

He was preparing to rip out the man's heart. Riley silently scoffed, watching the girl plead with him to not harm the dark-haired man. The girl needed a hard smack upside the head if she believed that he had any good left inside him. She did not expect him to listen to the girl, settling for a slap across the face and threatening the man to sail away from Storybrooke. Holding his hand, the girl led him off the ship. Riley blew softly into her hand. In the mirror, a faint mist struck the girl's back.

She gagged as she tasted the rum. The door opened and the dark-haired man stumbled into the room, clutching his side in pain.

"That looks like it hurt."

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice. "What are you doing on my ship?" he snarled.

"Enjoying the show. You can pinpoint the exact moment that he wants to fuck you up. Right…there," she replied, pointing at the mirror that was replaying the events that happened moments ago above deck.

"You snuck into my quarters and drank my rum—"

"Terrible rum. Seriously, how old is this? Like 200 years old?"

"To watch my fight with the Dark One? Get off my ship."

She gasped. "Is the dastardly Captain Hook going to make me? Don't look so surprised. Of course I know who you are…I knew from the moment I saw you. Threatening me with the hook gave it away. You've got quite the reputation. Not sure it's deserved. Think the name's scarier than the actual person. Killian Jones doesn't sound as menacing. Personally, I like Captain Coat Hanger."

"How do you know my real name?"

"Oh I know more than that, darling," she said, imitating his accent.

Riley tapped a button on her phone. A picture of him popped up on the screen, information written across the bottom of the picture, similar to what she had for the other residents of Storybrooke. He looked more and more disturbed as she rattled off things about his past, even the tiniest details.

"What magic gave you this information on me?"

"Maybe I found it all out from other people or I got it from inside your own head by simply looking at you. Which would make you more paranoid? Definitely the second option. Whether you believe that or not is up to you. Does the mere thought scare you? With just one look, I could possibly see every tiny thought in your head."

He grabbed her hand roughly before her fingers touched a single hair on his head. "Do not attempt magic on me, witch."

"I knew you were watching that day. I could smell your desperation. It stinks more than the rum on your breath. Were you impressed?"

"You killed those men to impress me?"

"Just like a man, to think anything a woman does is to stroke his ego. Ask me."

"Get off my ship!"

She giggled. "Was that meant to scare me? Not that, silly. You've been wanting to ask since you saw what I did to those men. You've been secretly hoping to see me again so you could ask me."

"For what?"

"My help, of course. Do you honestly think that _you _can kill the Dark One? So many have tried and failed, even with magic. That pointy little hook won't so much as scratch him. You're out of your mind if you think you can finish the job by yourself."

"I have no need for your assistance. You may have fooled the naïve people in this town but not me. You did not travel with Swan through a portal. I remember that she received a note about protecting a girl who would find her. I assume the note was referring to you."

"Pretty and smart. What a catch," she teased.

"If you wish for me to keep it a secret, I'd like my ring back."

Riley conjured a silver ring, runic markings etched into the silver. Before he could grab it, she held it out of his reach.

"Why is this piece of junk important to you?"

"If it's such a piece of junk, why steal it?"

"I'm a girl who likes jewelry. Here," she said, tossing it over to him.

As he caught the ring, she twisted his arm behind his back and pinned him against the bed. His head was buried into the pillow, muffling a slew of curses.

"It's poor manners to grab a lady like that or threaten her. You should be nicer."

"Apologies. When I encounter a lady, I'll remember that. Do you see one around?"

"When you change your mind and decide to ask for my help…"

"I'd sooner become allies with the Dark One."

"I'm going to make you beg like a dog for scraps. All you need to do is say my name three times. Riley, Riley, Riley. I'll come quicker if you sound truly desperate."

"That name shall never leave my lips."

Vanishing from the shop, Riley returned to her room at the inn. A thread of golden light crept along the wall, taking the shape of a door. As the light reached the floor, an actual door appeared. The door led to another closet, containing various books and potion ingredients. Standing on her tiptoes, she grabbed a jar that contained a silver ring identical to Hook's. The ring was covered in glittery black powder that seemed to move back and forth. She smirked when another runic marking was erased from the ring, leaving only the polished silver color. Hearing a loud knock at the door, she placed a cloaking spell over the closet.

Ethan invited her out with him and his friends to _The Rabbit Hole_, a popular bar in Storybrooke. She maintained her act as the innocent newcomer who was amazed by something as simple as a phone. The girls greeted her warmly, offering to take her shopping for new clothes during the week. Their jobs in town varied from waitresses at _Granny's _to nurses at the hospital. The only topic of conversation was Archie's mysterious return and the arrival of a woman named Cora, who was a very powerful sorceress and Regina's mother. Ethan mentioned that Cora was one of the people left behind by the dark curse and many hoped that she would remain in that land. Archie also warned them about Hook, his formidable reputation only making them more fearful.

"So now we have to deal with both her and Regina? Maybe that portal in the well can open up again," said Alec.

"We just found out that Regina didn't kill Archie. She's not the problem," defended Ethan.

"How long do you think it will take for that lunatic to convince her equally deluded daughter that they should team up? If that happens, we're all screwed."

Another girl, a few years younger than Riley, with shoulder-length, wavy ebony hair, chocolate brown eyes, and olive skin sat on the other side of Ethan. "That's assuming that Cora can find her. She's completely vanished," she said, having an accent similar to Hook's.

"Riley, this is Vivienne. She's Regina's assistant in Storybrooke."

"It's not as grand as it sounds. I used to be one of her servants and now I basically have the same job…except I get yelled at twice as much. It's nice to meet you."

"You too. You must know a lot about her."

"Oh, I know secrets about people in this town that could make your hair curl."

"You probably knew Cora was around before anyone else," said Amelia, an outspoken girl who worked in the dress shop.

"Maybe, maybe not. I only divulge secrets for the right price."

"Our impending deaths at the hands of a psychotic witch aren't enough? Good to know," said Ethan, sarcastically.

A burly man, who seemed tall enough to be part giant, entered the bar. His eyes on their table, he gave a simple nod. She was confused by Ethan leaving to meet with him until Alec explained that the man was his father, one of Regina's most prized knights. He heavily supported her despite initially serving under her husband, the king and Mary Margaret's father. On the battlefield, his height and muscle worked to his advantage, making him a force to be reckoned with in a duel. There were stories of him leaving the heads of those he killed outside the doors of his enemies. Though they looked very similar, Ethan and his father could not be more opposite in personality. During their conversation, she noticed his father glance over at her several times, nothing but mistrust in his eyes. Alec was about to buy another round of beers until he received a call from David. Under the table, she felt a hand rest over hers and suppressed a smile.

"Was it a bad accident?"

"Cora?" asked Charles, dreading the worst.

Alec shook his head, covering the end of the phone. "There was an accident by the town line. Gold and Belle were there for some reason and Hook shot her. She fell over the line…can't remember anything. Hook got run over by a car too. He's alive but he's in bad shape."

"Poor Belle. I hope they can get her memories back. Whose car was it?"asked Celeste, concerned.

"Someone who drove into town. Sorry, David. I was just telling the others. Do you need us to—sure, we'll search the area. I can ask him when he gets back. Yea, she's right here."

He handed the phone to Riley. "Emma wanted to talk to you."

She stood in a corner of the bar for privacy. "What do you want?" she asked, dropping her innocent tone.

"David, Mary Margaret, and I have to go to the hospital. I need you to watch Henry while we're gone."

"I'm not a babysitter."

"First time for everything, especially after what you said to him today. Granny will be there too to make sure both of you don't sneak out. I'll call every hour to check on him. Don't let anyone into that apartment. I don't want to risk Cora showing up there in a disguise. The guy didn't look too banged up so we should be back by midnight. When I do get back, we're going to have a serious talk."

Riley was the not the only one who needed to leave the bar. David wanted Ethan to search for Regina by himself, doubting that she would harm one of her own guards. If Ethan delivered the apology, it would likely soften her anger towards the rest of the town for their accusations. The rest of the boys would be busy with their own search through every building in hopes of finding Cora.

"I could babysit Henry with you. Taking care of children is boring," offered Vivienne.

"You've known her barely five minutes and already making a move? Down, girl," whispered Charles, earning a playful glare from her.

"I can handle it by himself. He's eleven. How much trouble can he be?" said Riley.

Once she was outside the bar, she transported herself to Mary Margaret's apartment building with a flick of her wrist. She contemplated refusing Emma's request but did not want to deal with the council getting involved over such a trivial matter. Opening the door, she came face to face with a crossbow.

"Granny, it's okay. It's Riley." said Henry, rushing down the staircase.

"We can't be too sure."

"Wait. Let me ask her something that only she would know."

He leaned close to her ear. "What did we do at the town line today?" he whispered very quietly.

"I fixed the barrier," she whispered back.

"She's not Cora. You can pick which game we play, Riley. I have tons. Let me get them."

Henry headed back up to his room. Granny had not lowered the crossbow. She seemed hesitant to believe that one question proved that Riley was not Cora in disguise. Riley played up the innocent girl routine, acting anxious.

"D—didn't you hear Henry? I'm not Cora."

"I've been around a long time and raised two generations of kids, dear. Do you think I've never seen this act?"

"What act?"

"The big doe eyes, innocent voice, and nervous stuttering. There's something off about you."

"I don't know what you mean. It's not an act. This land is so strange and I don't know anyone else. I'm nervous because I want to make a good impression and try to adjust to all the new things here. I can barely understand ice cream."

Returning with a stack of video games, Henry pulled her over to the couch in the living room. She chose a zombie shooting game. Sitting on the couch with bags of chips, bowls of ice cream, and cups of hot chocolate topped with cinnamon, they began to play the game, Riley only pretending to be confused by the controller when Granny had her eyes on her. In the middle of slicing a zombie in half with a chainsaw, she received a call from Emma. Granny was busy baking cookies.

"I'm sorry. The person you are trying to reach is unavailable right now. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep," said Riley in a robotic voice.

"Hilarious. How's Henry?"

"He's fine. He just shot a zombie in the head while stuffing his face with chips."

"Good to know. We won't be back from the hospital anytime soon."

"Oh no. Why?" she asked, slicing through a horde of zombies.

Emma completely missed the sarcasm in her voice, leading to a long explanation of the events at the hospital. She had interrogated an injured Hook for information on Cora but he was clueless about her whereabouts. The other man involved in the accident, the one who drove into the town, appeared to be an average person named Greg Mendell. They expected Dr. Whale to patch him up quickly so he could leave town as soon as possible but he had heavy internal bleeding. Gold refused to fix him with magic, too distraught over Belle's memory loss.

"And Gold says that the guy might've seen him use magic. Now we don't know whether to—"

"Emma, I really don't care."

"You have magic. It would take you seconds to heal him."

"True but a spell like that could draw attention. You want me to risk my own life for some stranger? That's funny."

"Riley, he could die."

"Maybe that's for the best."

"Why do I even bother?"

"It's not your fault. You'll learn soon enough that I rarely care about other people's problems. If you do need my help to bury the body, that's fine. I have plenty of experience with—"

"Stop talking. I'll call you again in an hour."

"I'll be waiting with bated breath."

Riley and Henry spent several hours playing video games. Emma continued to call every hour with pointless updates on the stranger. Henry wanted to know what was happening at the hospital but Riley only teased him about the possibility of another funeral. Around midnight, Granny sent him up to bed. Riley tensed up when he hugged her.

"Thanks for playing with me, Riley."

As he disappeared up the staircase, Granny handed her a cup of tea. "They're still at the hospital, waiting on that surgery. Let's talk about you."

"What about me?"

"You said you knew no one in town. I find that hard to believe."

"My family was in the Enchanted Forest with me. After the curse broke, the ogres returned and…I'm the only one of us who survived."

"No friends?"

"My father was very overprotective. He rarely let me leave to get food in the village."

"You know, Ruby was there when Emma and Mary Margaret returned through the portal. She never saw you pop out of it. Isn't that strange?"

Riley flicked her wrist. Granny was frozen in place, holding her cup of tea to her lips. After altering her memories, she left the apartment and walked over to the hospital. Mary Margaret was pacing back and forth, panicking over Dr. Whale's disappearance. David assured her that Ruby would track him down in the town. With their backs turned, Riley sneaked up the stairs…

~Killian~

Killian stared at the bluish blob on the tray. Swan told him that it was some kind of food and when he showed reluctance, an elderly woman, one of the nurses, claimed that he would feel better if he ate the strange food called jell-o. He assumed that it had medicinal properties for healing injuries. Simply shifting in his bed caused him a great deal of pain. He attempted to unlock the shackle around his wrist. His main priorities were leaving this hospital and finding his hook. As he moved the pin around with his teeth, he heard the door open. He spit out the pin onto the blanket.

"No need for alarm. I was merely stretching. I tend to grow restless when I stay in one place for too long."

"You should get used to it. With three cracked ribs, you'll be stuck here for awhile."

Recognizing that voice, he turned his head towards the door. Riley was standing beside the bed, reading a piece of parchment. It appeared to be a list of his injuries.

"How did you get in this room?"

"Through the door. You can relax. I'm your nurse."

"You're not a nurse. If you were, I'd rather receive care from an ogre."

"Aren't a much better sight than that old crone who looks like she'll keel over any minute?"

She untied the belt around her coat and let it fall to the floor. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her attire. It was similar to the attire of the other nurses though far more revealing. He refused to let his eyes wander away from her face, quite the difficult task.

"Has Swan sent you to interrogate me? I already told her that I've no idea where Cora's hiding."

"Emma thinks I'm babysitting Henry. She has no idea that I'm here."

"Then what is the reason for your visit? To torment me?"

"To make you feel better. I heard about that accident. It's not fun to get hit by a car."

"Get out."

"See, you say that but your eyes say different. Too bad you don't have your hook to threaten me with right now."

"I don't need my hook. Everything else remains intact."

"I can see that."

Her eyes flickered to a raised lump under the blanket. He was taken aback by her straddling him on the bed. She leaned closer to him, her breath on his neck making him shiver.

"I like my men tied up."

Grinding her hips against his, she left a trail of kisses down his neck. The shackle prevented him from moving his hand.

"Your little pirate definitely wants to play now but he has to wait his turn."

She placed her hands on either side of his head. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain. He groaned, the pain worsening with each passing second. His eyes popped open and he found himself alone in the room. The elderly nurse hurried into the room.

"Feeling alright, dear?"

"Yes. I was asleep."

"Your blood pressure was skyrocketing. You must've been having a very good dream."

As she left the room, he wondered if it was truly a dream...

~Riley~

Riley was standing by the trunk of her car. She held up a tiny vial filled with a silver mist. Brief images flashed through the mist. The last image was of a young dark-haired boy in an ill-fitted naval uniform sailing a ship, an older boy in a similar uniform at his side. Stashing the vial in the pocket of her coat, she opened the trunk. A young girl with pink streaks in her platinum blonde hair had her arms and legs tied together with rope and a gag in her mouth. Seeing Riley, she muttered curses and struggled to break the ropes.

"Good to see you too, Ellie. It's been so long. Don't look so dour. We're going to have a fun girl's night. Pillow fights, gossiping about boys, torturing information out of you…I personally can't wait."

Grabbing her by her ponytail, she dragged her into the inn. A raven flew in after her through the window…


	3. Making Deals

"Bitch."

Elena panted heavily, sweat dripping down the side of her face. Instead of physical torture, Riley decided to use mental manipulation by plaguing her mind with hallucinations. One moment, she was reliving a day at the beach and the next, she was reminded that she was currently tied up in a small room, not playing around in the ocean. She glanced up at Riley, pure hatred in her eyes.

"Send me back to that beach. Going from seeing Seth to your ugly face is like a nightmare."

"The nightmare hasn't even begun yet, sweetie. I know you're expecting Seth to come to your rescue but he has no idea that you're gone. When I had a friend snatch you, I sent a double in your place and I've been watching him. He has no idea. Do you know what he did last night while you were reliving that memory of your fourth birthday? He was tossing your lifeless corpse in a lake."

"He wouldn't do that," hissed Elena.

"I know him better than anyone. You should consider it a blessing. If it didn't give a damn about you, he would've thrown you in that lake with weights tied to your ankles and let you feel every bit of the pain of drowning. For some strange reason, he actually cared. I won't be that considerate."

"You can keep me tied up for the rest of my life. I won't tell you anything."

"We'll see."

Elena cried out in pain as a fire iron pierced her stomach. Riley lifted up the bottom of her lace tank top, exposing a deep stab wound. The wound healed within seconds leaving no traces, not even a burn mark.

"I see that your talentless, brainless self somehow managed to get into _his _inner circle. Won't your parents be happy to hear that? This is a win-win for the both of us. You heal quickly and I get to keep applying pain."

"You could threaten to shoot me in the head and I still won't talk."

Hearing a knock at the door, she dragged Elena into the secret closet. She left her with a parting gift: a frightening memory from her past. After casting a cloaking spell over the closet, to ensure that no one heard Elena's muffled cries for help, she walked over to the door. She cast another spell on the door to see who was visiting her. The sight of the sickeningly optimistic Charmings made her want to turn invisible. She had been dreading their eventual visit to her room, remembering that Emma had left Storybrooke earlier in the day. While she was busy mentally torturing Elena, she received a call from Emma about going on a trip with her, Henry, and Mr. Gold.

Owing him a favor, Emma was tasked with helping him find his son. She wanted to bring Riley along with her, claiming that it was her duty as Riley's protector though there were clearly other reasons. Riley refused to leave the town, not willing to risk being recognized while traveling the country. She had to endure a long lecture from Emma about not using her magic and maintaining her cover as the naive girl who was rescued the Enchanted Forest.

The Charmings were not alone, accompanied by Leroy and an injured Hook. Though she could not hear what David was saying, the angry glare and wagging finger were enough to guess that he was threatening Hook to cooperate with them. Mary Margaret, a quiver strapped to her back, knocked on the door once more, calling out her name. Riley unbuttoned her oversized dress shirt and opened the door. All four were caught off guard by her revealing attire of a black lacy bra and matching panties. Hook, having not spent much time in this land, was the least subtle about his stares. His eyes were traveling lower and lower until he snapped himself out of his daze and forced his eyes to stay on her face. She looked at her body and quickly covered herself, pretending that she was unaware of her shirt being unbuttoned.

"S—sorry. I didn't realize…I'm still getting used to these clothes."

Mary Marget was the first to speak. "It's fine. Not your fault," she said kindly, though her flared nostrils suggested that she knew that it was not an accident.

"What's wrong? Is Emma okay?"

"Yes. We're uh going to look for clues to find Cora. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can figure out how to get her out of Storybrooke. With Emma gone, she wanted us to watch over you."

"W—with a pirate? That doesn't sound safe."

"Leroy, could you call Doc? Ask him how it's going at the hospital," said David.

Taking out his phone, Leroy disappeared down the hallway. David stepped into the room.

"Get dressed. You're going," he insisted.

"No."

Riley, you are coming with us, whether you like it or not. There is no way that I am leaving you alone. Who knows what goes on in here when we're not around to keep an eye on you?"

"You got me. I'm secretly screwing all of your knights to bring them over to my side so I can stage a coup, overthrow you two, and become the new ruler of this stupid town."

David glared at Hook when he let out a soft chuckle. "We don't have time for your games."

"You couldn't handle the games I play. You strike me as too…vanilla."

"Get dressed."

Grabbing clothes from her closet, she changed her outfit in the bathroom, wearing a short-sleeved crop top, dark skinny jeans, knee-high boots, and a leather jacket. She overheard Mary Marget quietly begging David to not snoop through her belongings. David remarked that they knew nothing about Riley, which was unsettling when she had far too much knowledge about their own lives. He was peeking through the closet.

"I'm guessing you were a failure at panty raids when you were a kid. I keep them in my dresser."

"I wasn't looking for that."

"This is such a nice town. People searching rooms without a warrant. Does that mean I get to look through your apartment while you're out?"

"No but I do have the right when the person in question seems to have a lot of secrets. Your background check came up with nothing. That's suspicious to me."

"It's called covering your tracks. When you're in hiding—"

"You still haven't said who you're hiding from either."

"That's between me and Emma…when I think she's ready. Personally, I think she'll be dead before I feel that comfortable. That note told her a lot but it failed to mention that I've had plenty of guardians over the years and the average amount of time that they've lasted is a month. Your precious little savior can't even use magic. I'm curious how you think she can protect anyone when all she has are her street smarts and a gun."

"Emma will be fine. She'll come back and then you're not leaving this room until you tell us everything we want to know."

"I'm quaking with fear," she replied, sarcastically.

Leroy returned to the room. "Doc and the others are standing guard at the hospital. No one will get near Belle."

"Yes, because anyone who intends to harm her will be frightened into fleeing at the sight of six tiny men," said Hook.

Riley giggled quietly at his remark. She followed them down to the docks, rejecting any of Mary Margaret's friendly attempts to get to know her. Due to his injuries, Hook struggled to keep up, limping while clutching his side. Every so often, she noticed him glancing at her from the corner of her eye. Only Riley was aware that the ship was hidden by a cloaking spell.

"Can you undo the spell she cast on the ship?" David asked her, sounding more like an order than a request.

"She can use magic?" said Leroy, surprised.

"Barely. Apparently, she was learning from someone before the curse hit. She's our best shot at finding the ship. I know it might be a difficult spell but I think you can do it."

"Emma told me not to use my magic."

"She meant to not use it to hurt people," said Mary Margaret.

"But if I am able to uncloak the ship, what if my magic goes out of control and the cannons start firing? That could hurt people."

"Riley, I don't think—"

"I'm unwilling to take that risk."

David shoved Hook forward, telling him to bring them to the ship. After some rude banter, Hook stepped through the invisible barrier. They marveled at the sight of an actual ship at the docks, not expecting it to be this grand.

"Say it already," she whispered.

She turned around, facing Hook. He was leaning against the side of the ship, wincing from the pain in his ribs.

"Don't know what you mean, love."

"You've been staring at me since we left the inn. It's about 10% eyefucking…I'll go as high as 20% since you couldn't keep your eyes off my chest without trying really hard. The other 80-90%? You want to say something to me. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

"Now that you mention it, perhaps I'll use this distraction of my ship to—"

Their conversation was interrupted by Leroy. He was curious if the ship was able to travel back to the Enchanted Forest. Though it was made of enchanted wood, Hook explained that a portal was required for a journey between lands. David, lacking any tact, questioned him about Cora's plans for the town. Hook appeared to be completely clueless, only knowing that her plan involved cargo aboard the ship. He tapped on a wooden box covered by an enormous white cloth. Together, David and Leroy removed the cloth, revealing a bearded man sleeping inside a cage.

"Who's that?" asked Mary Margaret.

"A giant," replied Riley.

"Giants are…big."

"It's called magic."

"Aye, he was atop a beanstalk that Swan and I climbed together in the Enchanted Forest to retrieve a compass," said Hook.

Leroy peered into the cage. "So Cora used magic to make him travel-sized."

"Whatever she intends to do with him, it's important."

David accused Hook of hiding information. As they bickered back and forth, leading to David grabbing him by the throat, Riley tapped the giant's shoulder and sneaked off the ship. Sitting on a bench near the docks, she cast a cloaking spell over herself. Hook was the next person to leave the ship, limping away with pained groans. Despite the ship being invisible, it did not muffle the sounds of a struggle aboard the ship. The giant, now awake and full of rage, hurried off the ship, spooked by his strange surroundings. Riley uncloaked herself and flicked her wrist. The asphalt crept up his leg, keeping him rooted to the ground by the cannery.

"Having a bad day?" she asked, appearing in front of him.

Fear flickered in his dark eyes. "You. I know you. You're that witch…the one who robbed our home with that beast."

"Robbed is such a harsh word. I'd call it borrowing a few things. What did your brothers call you? Tiny, right? Certainly fits now."

"Stay back or I'll—"

"You'll what? Swing your fists at me while you're stuck to the road? You didn't scare me as a giant and you don't scare me now. This is my lucky day. I was thinking that I needed to search far for what I want but it's right here. One little spell and I can make you the size of a bug."

"What do you want?" he asked, anxiously.

"I can see that you've got a lot of pent-up rage. I take what I want and we can go our separate ways. All I want is that little ring on your pinky."

"For what purpose?"

"It's not for dark magic, if that's what you think. I just think it's cute. Do you want to be freed from the spell or not?"

Removing the ring, he handed it to her. The ring was silver with a dark red gemstone and runic markings etched along the edges. She reversed the spell on his legs.

"Now go on and destroy the town, if you like. I wouldn't mind a distraction from those idiots you met on the ship."

"I won't be small forever. When the magic wears off, I'll find you and—"

She gripped his chin. "Sweetie, don't throw idle threats. I showed you a kindness that day that I don't show many and it's very rare that I show such kindness twice to the same person. Be thankful that you survived. If that so-called beast had his way, you would've fallen like your other brothers."

Hiding the ring in her jeans pocket, she headed back towards the inn. Her phone vibrated in her hand, showing calls from Mary Margaret then David. She stifled a laugh, listening to their panicked voicemails. They warned her about a shrunken giant loose in the town and wanted her to meet them at _Granny's. _Passing by the closed library, she felt a sharp tug on her arm. Her attacker pushed her against the wall of the library. She caught a whiff of rum from their breath.

"Most would buy me dinner before going this far…though I did make an exception for one. She had the prettiest blue eyes and an accent that made me melt."

Hook kept her hands behind her back, his hook digging into her shoulder. "I saw you dealing with that giant. What was your business with him?"

"I was stopping him from going into town."

"And yet you freed him."

"I can't help it if I like chaos. You don't have me pinned against this wall to discuss my conversations with little giants. Did the sight of me this morning drive you crazy with lust? You're not the first. I tend to have that effect on people."

"Your visit to the hospital last night. What did you do to me?"

"I never went to the hospital. I was babysitting Henry while they were freaking out over that stranger. You can ask him or Granny. I was there all night."

"Lies. You don't have your magic to protect you. If you refuse to answer me, I will take my hook and—"

Seconds later, she heard a loud _caw_. His grip loosened on her arms as he swatted away a raven. Riley pushed him against the opposite wall, casting a spell to restrain him with a ring of stone around his wrists. The raven landed on a trash can beside her and nipped her finger.

"Good girl. You're not going to let the nasty pirate make mean accusations towards me."

"I know you were there."

"You're wrong but I'm curious. What are you accusing me of, Hook?"

"You sneaked into my room, dressed like one of those healers...or whatever they're bloody well called in this land."

She giggled. "By that look on your face, I'm guessing I looked like a sexy nurse. In this land, they call that a sex dream."

"And when you touched my head, I felt a shooting pain."

"A sex dream gone wrong. There's no magic involved in that. I didn't peg you as the type to like foreplay."

Hook did not look the least bit amused. "It was not a dream. I want to know why you were in that room. What did you take from my head?"

"Nothing. How could I when it's just full of hot air? This conversation is boring me. I'll expect to see you again when you've decided to take my offer. Be careful. That giant is not happy."

Riley transported herself back to the inn. Conjuring an empty jar, she dropped the giant's ring inside and covered it with glittery black powder. Her grin faltered as the ring burst into flames, reduced to nothing but ash. She threw the jar against the wall in anger, smashing it to pieces.

"You're upset."

Vivienne was standing by the window, looking concerned. "This isn't the time."

"I'd say it's the perfect time for me to be here. Was it not supposed to burst into flames? All these years and I still don't understand much about magic."

"No, it wasn't. It was a fake. I should've known as soon as I had it in my hand…and I'm not upset. I'm angry."

"Does this has to do with anything else? Like someone with a hook?"

"Why would I care about that stupid pirate?"

"Of course you wouldn't. I just thought maybe—forget it. Talk to me. You always did when you were in one of your moods. We've been apart all this time. I never thought I'd see you again. I don't like seeing you unhappy."

Grabbing Riley's hand, she led her over to the bed. "It's going to be okay. He's not going to win. He didn't the last time and I know it's been tough over the years, all this back and forth, but in the end, you'll win because you're stronger. He stands no chance."

"Then why does it feel like he's won? All those stories written about him…the movies…"

"Stories here mean nothing. I've read these _fairytales_. They're a load of hogwash, if you ask me. Did you know that in one of them, I'm written as just some malicious vixen who seduced him to get at his power?"

"Well…"

Vivienne playfully smacked her shoulder. A tiny giggle escaped her lips, making her forget about her anger.

"It's a half truth at best. I may have…flirted but it was for you. You know that I'd do anything for you," she said, lacing her fingers through hers.

"You should go. I'm sure the savior's parents will be here any minute to check on me. No one can know about our past. We have to act as though we're strangers."

"For how long? Soon enough, he'll send someone here and if Emma can't—then you'll leave again and I can't come with you. If I cross that town line—"

"Don't fret over nothing. Judging by her lack of talent, that day may come soon and if it does, I'll help you cross without losing your memories. I'm not leaving you behind again. Now go before someone spots you."

"I'll see you later. Once that giant is taken care of, I'm sure the others will want to meet at _Granny's _or something."

Vivienne transfigured into a raven and flew out the open window…

~Killian~

It was not a dream. Killian would repeat that same sentence in his head until it drove him mad. He refused to be fooled by that infuriating girl. No matter how many times she denied it, he knew that she had visited him in that hospital and performed some kind of spell. He was not well-versed in magic but judging by the pain it caused him, he doubted that it had pure intentions. While most of the town was fooled by her innocent act, some were not falling for her pretty face or the lies spewing from her mouth. The prince and princess may be naïve but not about her, particularly Snow who knew what the girl was capable of in terms of power. They seemed to be just as wary of her, unsure how she had such knowledge of the Enchanted Forest and its inhabits.

Killian was sitting in Regina's office, gazing at the giant's path of destruction through the town. Being the one to cast the curse, she retained her power as a queen, though in this land a ruler was called a mayor. She had given the giant a piece of enchanted mushroom to return him to his usual size, allowing him to gain his vengeance against the prince. Cora was spying on him through a mirror in the office. The prince and princess had rescued the giant, shrunken once more, from falling to his death.

Regina scoffed. "Of course they saved him. So much for that distraction."

"We'll have plenty more, dear. Is something troubling you, Hook? You seem quite pensive," said Cora.

"I'll admit that I've learned much about magic through the centuries but seeing as you practice it, you're a bit more of an expert. What kind of spell requires one to touch another's head? A spell that causes quite a lot of pain?"

"My first guess would be memory extraction. Digging through the mind, especially one as cluttered as yours, can be painful."

"Or it's from being hit by a car. I'm surprised you didn't get revenge on that man yet," said Regina.

"As much as I wish that it was from that metal carriage, I know it was the doing of the town's other new visitor."

"Other new visitor?" she asked, puzzled.

After Cora framed her for the murder of the cricket, Regina had holed herself up in her underground vault. She cut herself off from the rest of the town, not wanting to be punished for her alleged crime. Killian realized that she was unaware of the newest inhabitant of Storybrooke. Thinking that Regina could do his dirty work for him to scare the arrogant girl into confessing her secrets, he told both women what he knew about her. Regina looked more infuriated with each new detail.

"What do you mean, she crossed the town line? That's—well, it's not impossible since the curse broke but she knowingly came here?"

"Aye. Knows very much about this town and the curse that brought it here."

"And she came here for the savior?" asked Cora, intrigued.

"As I was traveling with those women to retrieve the compass, Swan received a piece of parchment. It seems that she's been tasked with protecting this girl. I haven't the slightest idea why and neither does Swan."

"Well, she won't find out because that girl is leaving now. I don't need a wild card to ruin everything," said Regina, casting a spell to summon one of her knights.

A tall, burly man arrived at the office. Killian recognized him as Alaric, one of her most prized knights and a man who was completely loyal to her. He was renowned for his brutality on and off the battlefield. When she tasked him with killing Cora, he threatened Killian that if he did not finish the job, he would rip off his head with his own hands. Regina questioned him about Riley, wondering why the rest of the town was not suspicious of her. He told her the cover story given by Swan and her parents, that Riley had arrived through the same portal.

"There was no one else with them that day."

Alaric nodded. "I knew it was a lie. The girl's hiding something. I told Ethan to tell me of any suspicious behavior but you know boys at that age. They get infatuated with anything on two legs. I overheard David speaking with his daughter over the phone. Her name is Riley Renato. They tried to find information on her but there was nothing, not even a previous address."

"Where is she now? I assume she's staying at the inn."

"Yes. I've been using Ethan to keep track of her. Wherever he is, it's likely that she's there as well. He left for _The Rabbit Hole _not that long ago. Should I accompany you?"

"Yes. If I need to scare this girl into cooperation, you'd be helpful with that."

Cora cast a shapeshifting spell on herself to alter her appearance. Keeping his distance from the burly knight, he followed Regina to a local pub. It was quite different from taverns in the Enchanted Forest, much more garish and with a wider variety of beverages. He was distracted by the strange music, which was very suggestive or irritatingly loud. In this land, there did not seem to be much concern for manners in dancing as he noted the nearly nonexistent amount of space between dance partners. It was more prevalent among the younger patrons. He spotted Riley among a group of children, including the boy that she had been speaking with outside the bakery the previous day.

Reaching into the pocket of her leather coat, she pulled out a strange square device. Regina referred to it as a cellphone, a means of communication between people no matter the distance between them.

"It's Emma. I'll be back," she said to one of the girls.

Riley left the table, standing in an empty corner of the bar. It was easy to blend into the crowd, allowing them to move closer to her location. Cora cast a spell to overhear the conversation with Swan despite the loud music.

A boy's voice emitted from the phone. "Why haven't you been answering your messages? You missed two meetings in the last week, Elena. I want to know your progress on what that idiot was doing at that manor. Did you take care of it?"

For a moment, Killian thought the voice sounded familiar. Judging by Riley's smug expression, the boy was not referring to her.

"Hello lover," she said in a honeyed voice.

He heard a low chuckle. "I should've known it was your doing. What gutter are you hiding in these days?"

"That's where I find your pathetic lackeys. I happen to be sitting outside your window, pining for you."

"If you were, I would've sensed it and snapped your head clean off by now."

"So hostile. Are you still sore about what I did to those three idiots?"

"Still weeping for that poor excuse of a protector?"

"No. I'm used to your obsessive stalker ways. If another guy so much as looks at me, you get all jealous. It's been the same all these years."

"I assume Elena's with you."

"You assume correctly but here's a plot twist. She's not dead yet."

"That's a surprise. I thought you would've disposed of her by now after you learned she foiled your little plan."

Though he seemed to have ruined some sort of scheme orchestrated by her, Riley did not look upset. She was smiling into the phone.

"Yes, she did. Now how will I ever win against you? There is no possible way for me to do what I wanted without what was in that manor. Two points for you," she said, twirling her wavy dark hair around her finger.

Ethan was walking towards her, two beers in his hand. "Feel free to call anytime. Oh and when you do send one of your idiots after me, at least pick someone who can give me a good fight. Those last three were so boring."

Ending the call, she lied to Ethan that she had been speaking with Swan. Regina interrupted their little conversation, calling out to him. He tensed up at the sight of his father, hiding the beer behind his back.

"R—Regina, you're—I'm glad you're not hiding anymore. I knew you didn't kill Archie."

"Always so sweet. Who's your friend?"

"Uh this is um Riley. She…she's kind of new to Storybrooke."

"Did you invite your grandmother out to the pub?" asked Riley.

Regina glared harshly. "I happen to be his queen and the mayor of this town. Surely if you know about the curse that made this town exist, you know—is something funny, dear?"

Riley was holding back a laugh. "It's just funny. I mean, it's not like you got the job out of any merit. You made the curse so of course, you made yourself the mayor. Honestly, walking around this town, it's not something to brag about but for an old hag like yourself, you did the best you could."

Ethan chuckled awkwardly. "Regina, she didn't mean—heh, I think it's the liquor talking. This is probably why you shouldn't drink before you're twenty one because you can't handle the…Riley was kidding."

"You will show respect to the queen, you insolent child," said Alaric, towering over her.

Riley shivered. "The big tree speaks. I'm so scared."

"What is your business in this town?" asked Regina, boiling over with anger.

"That's between me, myself, and I."

"You will answer me or I will char off all that pretty hair. I'm sure Ethan can attest to what happens when I am disrespected."

Ethan was silent, not moving a single muscle. He appeared to be frozen in place though he was not the only one. Every person in the pub, except for Riley, Killian, Regina, Cora, and Alaric, were in the same state.

"Impressive spell," said Cora, glancing over a frozen girl with a glass to her lips.

"If only I could say the same to you but that's a terrible shapeshifting spell. You must be Cora. I've heard of you. Pity you don't live up to the rumors."

"Enough of this. What are you doing in Storybrooke?" asked Regina.

"You don't have to worry, Regina. I'm not going to usurp your power. If I wanted that, I would've done it as soon as I crossed that town line. I'm just here until Emma kicks the bucket, so to speak. You should be happy about that."

"As much as it would please me to see the savior and the two idiots gone, that isn't enough for me to accept your presence here. You will tell me everything you know or—"

"That's starting to sound like a threat."

"And here I thought that you were just a pretty face. You have some brains after all."

"Take them."

Suddenly, Killian's arms were pinned behind his back. His assailant was one of the knights, a blonde boy who reminded him of the prince. The other boys had Regina, Cora, and Alaric cornered, holding guns, knives, and other makeshift weapons. Ethan was pointing a gun at Regina's head.

"Go ahead and shoot her in the face. Her voice irritates me."

As he pulled the trigger, she raised her hand. "Wait, stop. Forget that. Take ten steps back, turn around, and close your eyes."

Every person in the pub followed her instructions. Killian was aware that Riley possessed magic but he had no idea that she possesed enough power to control an entire crowd without a flick of her wrist. She stepped towards Regina.

"I don't respond well to threats. If you threaten me again, you'll wake up one night to see little Henry by your bed. I'll have Ethan drive a sword right through his belly and as you're watching him die, he'll do the same to you and the last thing you'll see is blood dribbling down his chin."

Regina snarled, conjuring a fireball in her hand. In a split second, Riley slammed her against the wall, lifting her up by her throat with ease.

"Mother," choked out Regina.

Cora waved her hand but nothing happened, not even a puff of smoke. "Mommy can't help you now. I've cut off her magic. It's a little talent of mine...the ability to absorb magic from anyone and anything. It's very useful. My dad loved it."

As she grabbed Regina's wrist, the fireball was extinguished. "Amateur little witches…such arrogance."

"Ironic coming from a girl who looks like she was drinking from sippy cups not that long ago."

"Appearances are deceiving. Do you honestly think that you stand a chance against me? I could kill everyone in this bar before you finished blinking. I don't even need to see Henry to hurt him. All it takes is a little spell and he'll start puking up blood…maybe going blind…so many choices."

"If you hurt him—"

"Oh, I can and I will, Regina. See, you may have been a queen back in the Enchanted Forest but here, you're nothing. You're an insignificant little speck. Go on with whatever you're doing with mommy dearest, hobbles, and the big tree. As long as you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours."

Letting go of Regina, she vanished from the bar in a cloud of silver smoke. The spell over the pub was reversed, lifting them from their stupor. Ethan began to speak as though he had never been frozen. Seeing that Riley was gone, he was worried that Regina had somehow harmed her with magic. Regina attempted to explain the truth about Riley but he refused to believe her, insisting that Riley was an innocent girl from their land. Ignoring both his father and Regina, he left the pub…

~Riley~

Riley had spent all night and the next morning in her room at the inn, tormenting Elena. Despite the hours of long, painful torture, Elena refused to divulge any secrets. She was adamant that her dear 'master' would rescue her then murder Riley for giving her the tiniest scratch. In the middle of making her blood boil, she received a visit from a concerned Ethan. Thinking that Regina harmed her, he apologized and promised that Regina was being more paranoid than usual, causing to her find someone as sweet as Riley as a threat. He was oblivious to Elena's screams, due to a powerful cloaking spell. All he could see was her mostly empty room. Not wanting her to think that Storybrooke was unsafe, he promised to protect her in case she had another encounter with Regina or her mother.

Riley was walking around the second floor of the hospital. She opened the door to a room at the end of the hallway. Belle, dazed and dressed in a yellow hospital gown, was laying on a bed. She took a small bite of a bread roll.

"Can I help you?" she asked, speaking with a thick accent.

"They were right. You really don't remember anything. That must be awful."

"I'm sorry if I don't remember you. I don't even know my own name. People keep calling me Belle."

Walking over to the bed, she placed her hand on Belle's shoulder. Her eyes glazed over as she looked up at Riley.

"That's it. I'm Riley. Does that sound familiar?"

Belle smiled. "I—I think so. We're friends."

Riley sighed with relief and hugged her. "Yes. We're very good friends. I'm sorry I haven't visited you sooner. I guess I was worried to see you around Mr. Gold but now that he's gone, I decided to take my chances."

"Mr. Gold? Who's that?"

"Another friend. I stopped by to get your key for the library. I know you wanted it to be open soon and now that you're in the hospital, you can't really do that."

"I was going to open a library?"

"Of course. You love books, Belle. Until you're feeling better, I'll take care of the library for you. It's what friends do, after all."

"Maybe you can help jog my memory. You must know a lot about me if we're friends."

"Nothing would make me happier. Let me get started on the library and then I'll be back. We have so much to catch up on, Belle."

Reaching into a purse on the bedside table, she pulled out a set of keys. She hugged Belle once more then left the hospital. Walking down the street, she received a call from Emma.

"I think you're even more annoying when you're away."

"I said I'd call you every day that I was gone to check on you. Have you set fire to any buildings yet?" asked Emma.

Riley heard a slight tremble in her voice. "Aw, what's wrong? Bad run-in with the baby daddy?"

"W—what?"

"The Dark One's son. What happened? Was there angry yelling over his betrayal? Any crying? Please tell me someone got video of that. It would make my day."

"How could you—there's no way you could know that."

"You'd be surprised by what I know, Emma. Are you upset because Henry is mad at you?"

"He doesn't know. Why would he be mad at me?"

"Because you lied about his family. A child sees that as unforgivable. You could say I know that from personal experience. I doubt he'll ever look at you the same. Now I'm excited to see him again. An angsty eleven year old boy? I prefer that over one who weeps for a dead cricket."

"Shut up! Henry won't—I don't even know why I bother. I'm going to convince Gold that his son is a lost cause and then we'll be on our way back to Storybrooke. Don't start any trouble."

"That's like telling a fish not to swim."

Hanging up the phone, she stopped in front of a shop with a sign that read _Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer_. She flipped through the set of keys from Belle's purse and used a rusty gold one to open the door. The shop was filled with all sorts of trinkets. She walked into the back room and searched the many bookshelves. There were books about every subject, from dark magic to potions capable of curing illnesses. She picked up a dusty, leather-bound book from the top shelf. At the bottom of the spine was an etching of a dove.

"Hello, old friend. We have much to do."

Riley heard soft whispers in her head. Within seconds, the whispers became more clear.

"Riley. Riley. Riley."

"Look who's calling."

She transported herself to the source of the whispers. Her surroundings changed to the inside of the library where Hook was laying unconscious on the floor. She touched his forehead, casting a spell to see his memories from before he fell unconscious. He had been working with Regina and Cora to locate the Dark One's dagger, using a note hidden in Belle's purse as a clue. When he was able to decipher a map, both women turned on him and Cora sent him flying into the bookshelf. Riley nudged the side of his head with her boot. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned, holding his head.

"I'm beginning to think you have an obsession with me, love."

"You were the one calling out for me."

"I never said your name."

"You did while you were knocked out. Perhaps it was another sex dream and it sounded more like this."

She panted heavily. "Riley. Riley. Riley. Yes, Riley," she moaned, imitating his accent.

"You're vulgar," he hissed.

"A prudish pirate. That's a rare sight. Your subconscious was saying what you won't admit. For some stupid reason, you put your trust in a queen that acts more like a child and her equally messed up mother and now they've turned on you. Ask me."

"I do not need help from a ch—"

The heel of her boot rested between his legs. "I'd be very careful about the next word out of your mouth. It could decide if you leave here with your mast intact or the Charmings finding your bloody corpse with a missing appendage. Stop being a stubborn ass and beg me for my help. You know that without me, you've got no chance of killing the Dark One."

"And what's in it for you, Renato? You seem to only offer your assistance in a matter if you get something in return or have you already gotten what you seek by stealing my memories?"

"Here we go with your baseless accusations. I did nothing to you. As for why I would help, let's just say that I know people with a vested interest in seeing the Dark One gone. Never met him myself but from what I hear, it would be doing everyone a favor."

"I would welcome your assistance," he said, looking pained by just asking for help.

"That didn't sound like begging to me. You have to mean it."

He gritted his teeth. "Please help me. I cannot possibly defeat the crocodile without your help. I am begging you to assist me in this endeavor."

"Was that so hard?"

Flicking her wrist, she transported them into her room. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Elena by the television, strapped to the chair and plunging a jagged knife into her leg. Both of her legs were soaked with blood though each time the knife pierced her skin, her wounds healed instantly.

"How has your day been today, Ellie?"

"I've been stabbing myself repeatedly."

Riley pouted. "Oh no. Why?"

"Because you told me that I had to and I can't stop myself. Is he here because you finally realized that I won't tell you anything so you'll just toss me in some ditch?"

"No. This is Captain Hobbles. Hobbles, this is Elena. I brought her with me to Storybrooke and she tends to be wrong all the time. See, she thinks she's so brave for keeping quiet but what she doesn't know is that her silence is exactly what I wanted…because now I know everything."

Elena looked at her, strangely. "What?"

"While you were so busy trying to stay strong through all those horrible hallucinations, I snuck in through the back door of your empty mind. Did you think that I couldn't because _he's _had you ingesting wolfsbane since the day he gave you your little gift?"

She shook her head. "I don't—if I was, you couldn't make me do anything."

"Maybe you're right, Ellie. If you haven't been on wolfsbane, then you'll walk right over to the window," said Riley, making direct eye contact.

Shaking from head to toe, Elena dropped the knife and stumbled over to the window. Riley glanced over at Hook, who had not taken his eyes off of her during the conversation. Slipping him a subtle wink, she turned back towards Elena, who screamed in agony as the sun struck her. Her skin bubbled, leaving horrible burns all over the right side of her body. Unlike her previous injuries, the burns remained and worsened over time.

"You can get away from the window. Guess even I have to be wrong sometimes."

Elena zoomed away in a quick blur, hiding in the shadow of the closet door. "Why did she burn? If she ingests wolfsbane, she's a werewolf. They don't burn in the sunlight," said Hook, eyeing the frightened Elena.

"That's true of most werewolves but Elena comes from a cursed line. Centuries ago, they were cursed to only be in their wolf forms and to never walk in the sunlight. It was done by a very powerful sorcerer when her ancestors followed him to this land but another one helped them and she's been in his debt ever since. He was so generous, giving them special rings to keep them from burning in the sun. It's a pity that Elena lost hers. It's almost like someone purposely ripped off the ring and tossed it into a lake. Who would do such a thing?"

"Centuries? This town wasn't here until twenty eight years ago."

"Do you honestly think Regina was the first to cross over to this land? Hardly. What was that, you little mutt?"

Elena was muttering to herself quietly. "J—just kill me. You're going to do it anyway. Stop biding your time and just do it."

As Riley walked towards her, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the fatal blow. She was sure that her life would be over in a few minutes. Riley cupped her cheek.

"That's what you want. You'd rather I finish the job than have _him _do it. As frightening as I am, he's far worse, especially about disloyalty. I have a better idea. Since you're obviously on wolfsbane…seriously, you're a terrible actress. You could've made it much more believable. Let me take care of that."

The knife rose from the floor and flew into her hand. She stabbed Elena in the stomach and waved her hand over the wound. A yellowish mist seeped from the wound, absorbing into the palm of her hand. She locked eyes with Elena.

"I want you to go back to him."

"N—no."

"You're going to tell him everything that happened. I want him to know that how badly you messed up. No matter how much you want to keep quiet, you can't. You're going to cross that town line, forget about Storybrooke, and think about how all you are is a worthless little puppy."

Elena disappeared from the room. "Either way, she'll die. She clearly wronged you. Why not do it yourself?" asked Hook, curiously.

"It'll be worth it. Now do you want to find your crocodile or not?"

"And how do you propose that we find him? He's left town and from what Regina told me, he could be thousands of miles away."

"It's called phone tracking. Emma's in Manhattan. It's about a seven hour drive."

"The Jolly Roger is faster than those metal carriages. We'll leave now."

"Calm down. With his long list of issues with his son, they won't be gone anytime soon. Besides, I need time to find a loophole around leaving and keeping anyone from knowing that I'm gone."

"You weren't part of the curse. You can leave without losing your memories."

"Memory loss isn't my problem. It's—"

A snowy owl flew in through the window, landing on the dresser. It had a letter tied to its leg. Untying the note, she fed the owl a small treat. She waited the owl to leave but it did not move, its yellow eyes on her. With a heavy sigh, she opened the letter. The letter floated in mid-air, taking the form of a man's face.

"If you take one step over that line, I shall know and you will face the consequences. Stay put. Remember the last time you disobeyed and I had to pay a visit. Stop this foolishness and do as you are told," said the letter in a booming voice.

She waved the letter over to the open window, where it exploded into silver dust. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"The one who gave Emma the job of protecting me. It's not the first letter I've gotten. I don't do well with orders. By the morning, I'll find a way to leave without a problem."

"If you break this deal or betray me in any way…"

"I always keep my word. By tomorrow, we'll be in Manhattan and you'll get to skin your little crocodile. You should be focused on finding your hook. You can't just kick him to death."

As Hook left her room, she conjured the leather-bound book from Gold's shop and sat on her bed, flipping through the pages…


	4. Betrayals

Riley spent most of the night perfecting a way to leave Storybrooke without detection. It was far from her first attempt over the years and the council had wised up, prepared for many of her tricks. She remembered her first attempt at the age of eight when she cast a simple charm to make herself taller with waist-length blonde hair. It took less than a minute for the council to warn her protector, an elderly man with wrinkles on top of wrinkles and a tendency to pull his pants up too high, and for him to retrieve her at a diner just a mile down the road. With age came much more intelligent and well thought-out schemes and the council needed to adapt as well, having plans for any possible scenario. Her one advantage was that with Emma outside Storybrooke herself, the council would be unable to use her, through a worried voicemail or panicked pacing back and forth as she spoke to her parents, to find out that Riley left the town. The council would not be easily fooled by a cloaking spell or even her altering her appearance to resemble a completely different person. One of her ideas had been to take on the appearance of someone in the town but the fact that no one could pass the town line without losing their memories would only raise suspicion.

Sitting on her bed, an impression left in the mattress from the hours of flipping through her book, she waved both of her hands in tiny circles. A glowing ball of silver light appeared in front of her and slowly began to take shape, two beams of light shooting out from either side. The light grew brighter and brighter until it filled up the room. As it faded, an exact copy of her, down to the last detail, stood at the edge of her bed. She grabbed the double's hand and whispered a spell under her breath. Both of their hands glowed bright silver. Repeating the spell over and over again, Riley felt slightly weaker, the glow vanishing from her hand. A pink post-it note floated down from the ceiling and landed on her lap, the words _Trouble. Sheriff's Station. Now_ in cursive.

"That should be enough," she said, releasing her grip on the double.

Crushing the post-it note into dust, she grabbed a black peacoat from her closet. A quick flick of her wrist sent her to the sheriff's station. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not even a sign of forced entry. Vivienne, in her raven form, was perched on the ledge.

"What's he done now? I told him to wait. Go back to keeping your cover. I'll handle it. Just be ready to hold up your end of the plan. No mistakes."

Expecting the worst, she walked into the station. Hook, a satisfied smirk on his face, was replacing the prosthetic hand with his signature hook, twisting it into place. She almost stepped onto an unconscious David's head, his body just inches away from her. The side of his head was bruised and it did not take much searching to find the culprit: a crowbar sticking out under a series of chairs. Hook's smirk faltered as he caught sight of Riley, her arms crossed.

"A crowbar? Really? You could have at least hit him from behind."

"Is this another magical ability of yours? Sensing what direction a man was struck?"

"No. I have so little hope in any intelligence you possess that I know you'd be dumb enough to hit him when he was looking at you and knew that you were the one who did it. How the hell have you survived this long?"

He shot her a harsh glare under furrowed brows. "I may have agreed to your assistance but it does not mean you can insult me freely."

"I'll insult you all I want, Captain Hobbles. Instead of waiting for me, like I said, you decided to go ahead and knock him out."

"I don't take orders from you, Renato."

"Well, you will if you finally want to end this revenge fantasy, _Jones_. Let's go before he wakes up…unless you want to get caught before we've even made it to your ship."

His hook grasped her wrist, preventing her from transporting them to the docks. "Let me make one thing quite clear, love. If you think of betraying me on this journey, you won't need to fear whoever intends to harm you. I will finish that job myself."

She shuddered. "Ooh, I'm shaking."

"I may only have one hand—"

"I wouldn't care if you were just a head rolling around the floor or you had a robot body that could shoot lasers. You don't scare me. Your threats just make me laugh. It's nothing against you. I've faced much worse than an arrogant pirate whose eyebrows move around so much that they might be two wiggly caterpillars."

Before he could strain himself to come up with an equally witty retort, she sent both of them to the deck of his ship. She lifted up a floorboard near the wheel, revealing a pile of maps. The maps depicted many lands, from Camelot to North America. She assumed that he stole the maps of places in this land from a book in the library. Digging through the massive pile, she picked up a detailed map of the Northeastern states and conjured a red pen to draw a path to New York. Hook was staring at her with a mixed expression of surprise and confusion.

"How did you know I hid the maps under that board?"

"You think this is my first pirate ship? They all hide them in the same kind of place," she replied with a shrug.

Beneath her careless tone, she knew that every word was a lie. She had not used magic to locate his stash of maps but immediately chose that floorboard. It was almost like an instinct thought she would never show any kind of weakness in front of him. Wanting to change the subject, she ran her finger along the drawn path.

"That's the quickest way to New York."

"Is this New York another town?" he asked, securing the sail with his one hand.

"It's a state. Think of it like it's own little land with villages. Manhattan is one of them," she explained, conjuring a tote bag with some of her belongings.

Hook sailed the cloaked ship out of the harbor, studying the map. True to its reputation, the ship was incredibly fast and at the rate it was moving, they would arrive in Manhattan within a couple hours. Riley leaned against the side, skimming a page in her book that was now the size of her hand. Vivienne had sent her a message that the second part of her plan was complete and David and Mary Margaret's sudden reactions sold the lie well enough that the council would never accuse Riley of leaving the town with ulterior motives.

"Not much longer now. Something the matter, love? Don't like being out on the water?"

"Nothing's wrong."

He nodded towards her wrist, which was sore and bright red. Without realizing it, she had been snapping her leather bracelet.

"Snap that any harder and that will be the second hand cut off on this ship."

"I'm fine. I'm just bored."

"What are you reading?"

"It's called a book. Ever seen one before?"

"I'm not an uneducated fool."

"Uneducated? Maybe not. Fool? That's debatable. So tell me, what is your grand plan?"

Reaching inside his coat, he showed her a vial of black liquid. The vial contained a concentrated dose of poison from a plant that grew exclusively in Neverland. He had made the poison during his years on the island.

"Dreamshade…interesting choice."

"You know of it?"

"I know it's a nasty poison that kills someone in days."

"This will kill the Dark One in a matter of hours."

"If you get close enough," she pointed out.

"Isn't that why I have you along for this venture?"

"Don't worry. I'm a girl of my word. I promised to help you get to him and I'll do that through Emma."

"From what I've seen, she doesn't trust you."

"Bad first impression."

"Murder tends to be, yes."

Her freshly manicured nails tore into a page on blood magic. Smoke rose from the book as it caught fire and she slammed it shut, extinguishing the flames. Though she acted as if she was not bothered by Emma and her parents constantly mentioning that day in the Enchanted Forest, it made her want to scream until her voice went hoarse. She was tired of them deciding that she was some bloody thirsty psychopath based on one incident that they knew nothing about, besides the fact that she murdered three men.

"Pot, meet kettle."

"What sort of gibberish is that?"

"You're a hypocrite like the rest of them. You see me do one thing and you judge me as some psycho who likes to kill people."

"I witnessed you murdering the shopkeeper as well…or at least leaving him to die."

"Because you're such a saint, pirate. Have you ever considered that I did those things for my own protection? Emma isn't my second guardian or even my tenth. I've had them come and go since I was seven. I didn't kill those men for some sadistic thrill. I did it because if they were alive, they could tell the person they work for where to find me and then I'd be dead. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's saving my own ass because when it comes down to it, I can only rely on myself."

"He must be quite powerful if you fear him."

Her right eye twitched. "I'm not scared of anyone or anything."

"And yet you've been hiding."

"Not by choice and if everything goes right, I'll never have to hide again."

"And what is your own grand plan? I suppose it has to do with your business in the Enchanted Forest."

"It's too complicated for someone like you to understand."

"Do tell. Someone like me?"

"An idiot with a death wish. A small part of you wants to fail because then the Dark One will seek his own revenge and end your long tale of sorrow but if killing him means you dying in the process, you won't mind that either."

Hook was silent, keeping his eyes on the open water. She flipped back to the page on blood magic.

"Hey, I get it. I've felt that way sometimes too."

"I doubt you've suffered as long as I have, Renato."

"You'd be surprised," she muttered.

"I've met others like you as well."

"Doubtful."

"You believe you can read people like open books but no one can do the same to you. I disagree. A way to pass the time. For every correct assumption, you cannot insult me for that many minutes."

Riley agreed to the terms of the deal, doubting that Hook would know much about her beyond her being a girl with magic. Judging by their spot on the map, the ship was only ten minutes from its destination. She replied to a text from Henry before stashing her phone in her coat pocket.

"You're being protected from a man," said Hook, beginning the game.

"Cheap shot."

"Pirate. That's one minute."

"You get one free pass. If the otherrs are like that, I'll annoy you so much that you'll want to throw yourself to the sharks before we find Emma."

"You're an orphan."

"Wrong."

"I know that look well, Renato. I saw it during my time in Neverland and well before then."

"I'm not an orphan."

"Much worse then, isn't it? You have a family but it feels as if you've got no one. If you were on good terms, they would be the ones protecting you, not some stranger. We may not see eye to eye most of the time…"

"More like never."

"But we do share that in common."

"We are nothing alike. You don't know the first thing about me, Hook. I'm not helping you because I see you as kindred spirit or something lame like that. Like I told you before, you're not the only one with an interest in seeing the Dark One dead and if I'm part of that, there will be people lining up to make deals with me. It's always good to have connections."

He docked the ship at the harbor. The cloaking spell remained intact, no one having a clue that a large pirate ship was nestled between two tiny boats. Waiting for a group of teenagers on skateboards to pass, she sneaked off the ship with Hook and tapped his back. She cast a glamour spell over him to ensure that he blended in with the crowd. Though his appearance remained the same, everyone else, besides Riley, would see him as a regular guy in the city, not someone dressed in pirate attire. Instead of searching for Emma, she brought him into a nearby hotel. Hook was like a fish out of water, puzzled by something as simple as an elevator.

"Swan is here?"

"No. This is a hotel. You need to give me time to get on Emma's good side before you stab anyone. With her trust issues, that could take days."

"They may return to Storybrooke before then."

"He's not leaving without his son and according to Emma, it could take centuries to just repair their relationship. I already booked a room. You can stay there when I think it's too risky for you to be in public. Once Emma trusts me, you can go ahead with your plan. Stay here while I check in at the desk. Try to act normal."

"Normal?"

"I know that might be hard so to be safe, touch nothing."

Riley walked over to the front desk. The receptionist, a woman in her mid-thirties, greeted her kindly.

"Checking in?"

"Yes."

"I just need a form of ID and your reservation confirmation, please."

"Sure. It's right—"

Distracted by something behind Riley, the receptionist cocked her head to the side. Riley turned around to see Hook standing next to a fountain in the middle of the lobby. He passed his hand over one of the spouts, surprised each time when a jet of water shot into the air.

"Sorry about my brother. He's never traveled before so he's easily excited by things. Here you go," said Riley, handing the amused woman her ID and the reservation email.

As the receptionist passed the ID through a scanner, she smiled at Riley though the wide smile did not hide the worry in her eyes. Riley noticed that her fingers were fiddling with something under the desk.

"These computers…honestly, I think they're older than me. The screen's frozen so let me just get my supervisor to fix the problem. I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll be back in a moment."

The receptionist disappeared into a back room. Riley felt a shiver run down her spine and she waved her fingers inside her coat. A portrait of a beach on the wall was replaced with a mirror, showing a security guard advancing behind her. He pointed a gun at her back. Two other men by the front door, likely off duty cops, reached for their own guns. Other people in the lobby panicked, thinking that the hotel was under attack.

"Hands behind your back," said the guard in a gruff voice.

Riley kept her hands by her side. "Don't make me use force. Hands behind your back _now_."

"Renato?"

One of the off-duty cops pointed his gun in the direction of the fountain. "Put that down, boy."

"Boy?"

Rolling her eyes, she flicked her wrist. The entire lobby was frozen, except for Hook who had taken out his sword. She easily knocked the three men unconscious and erased their memories, doing the same to the receptionist. Hook's sword disappeared from his hand, landing in her own, and she stepped in front of him.

"I said to act normal. That doesn't mean you play with water fountains or take out swords."

"That man intended to harm you."

"Oh, I'm touched that you care."

"Don't flatter yourself, Renato. I only intended to fight these men because of our deal and I wanted to ensure that you live to keep up your end. My sword, if you please."

She shoved the sword back into its scabbard. "Don't do that again. I don't need anyone, especially someone like you, to help me in a fight."

"Why did that man point his pistol at you?"

"It was nothing. Wait by the stairs while I get the room key. You'd probably piss yourself if you take the elevator."

"Elewhat?"

"Wait by the stairs."

As he walked towards the staircase, muttering about not taking orders from a girl, she moved behind the desk. The computer displayed _Security Alert _in bright red letters over the picture from her ID. She cast a spell to return the computer to its usual screen.

"It won't be that easy."

Grabbing the room keys, she led Hook up to their room, a two bedroom suite, on the third floor. She tried to explain basic things around the room but he could hardly understand the bathroom sink.

"I'm going to meet Emma now. You stay here. This is an enchanted parchment. Just say whatever you want and I'll get the message on my own parchment. I'll tell you when you can leave."

"Or we don't bother with this impossible mission of Swan trusting you and simply kill the Dark One."

"I'm an amazing actress. To help with my performance, I need you to do something. I need you to stab me."

He chuckled. "Perhaps I heard you wrong."

"No. It's how I got out of Storybrooke without my every move being watched like a hawk. Emma is going to think that I was attacked in Storybrooke and I had no choice but to meet her here. I need a wound to show her and with the Dark One around, I can't risk him recognizing an injury created by magic. Right through the stomach."

"And what if you bleed to death before reaching her?"

"I won't. Do it already. If you're too scared—"

Riley was cut off by his hook piercing her stomach. She winced, briefly gripping his shoulder. Casting a spell, she stopped the bleeding and altered the deep wound to make it look not as fresh. She left the hotel, keeping one hand over her stomach…

~Emma~

It was supposed to be a simple favor: find Gold's son then return to Storybrooke. From the start, she thought the trip was strange. She did not bother questioning how Gold knew that his son would be alive, let alone remember him, after all these years. On their way to New York, she imagined that his son was some elderly man even older than him or a worst case scenario that he was already dead and buried in a local cemetery. The only upside to that one scenario was that Gold possessed no magical abilities outside Storybrooke so he could not take out his anger on them by turning her and Henry into slugs or worse. While she was comforted by that fact, she also knew that he was plenty capable of hurting someone, remembering his assault on Mr. French, the flower shop owner.

All the bad scenarios she imagined in her mind became a lot more appealing when she learned the truth. Gold's son was none other than Neal, her ex-boyfriend and Henry's father. Emma was not only panicking over seeing him for the first time in ten years, after he set her up to go to jail for stolen watches. She also worried about Henry's reaction if he discovered that his father was not a heroic firefighter who died in a terrible fire but a man who was alive and living in the city. While Mary Margaret encouraged her to be honest with Henry, Riley was no help whatsoever, hoping that Henry would turn on Emma for her own amusement. Just talking with Neal alone was difficult. When he told her the truth about the night of her arrest, how August confronted him and convinced him to leave Emma, it took every bit of restraint within her to control her emotions. She was unable to comprehend how the words of a former wooden puppet outweighed his supposed love for her. When the truth about Neal was revealed, in front of both Henry and Gold, Emma could hardly stand the hurt on Henry's face. Another punch in the gut was when he compared her to Regina.

Emma was sitting in Neal's cramped apartment, waiting for Henry to finish getting dressed in the bathroom. Neal, wanting to be a good father, offered to show them around the city, though he was less enthused about spending time with his own father. She did not need a genius level IQ to know that they had their own share of problems. Neal had practically begged her to lie that she was unable to find him as a way to avoid seeing his father in person. Pulling at a loose string on the couch, she glanced at the bathroom door. Henry had barely said two words to her the entire morning. She wanted to explain herself but at the same time, part of her wondered if it was better to give him space. Gold was leaning against the wall, gripping his cane. Since his conversation with Neal the day before, he was completely silent, which made her more uncomfortable. Neal left the bedroom, putting on his coat. The awkward tension, at least for Emma, skyrocketed about a million percent.

"Henry almost ready?"

"I uh think so."

"Look, I know this is a little awkward. I get why you didn't tell him about me but I want to make up for what I missed, Emma. I want to get to know him."

"Yea…"

Henry hurried out of the bathroom and opened the window. For a moment, she thought Gold snarled at him but she was distracted by Henry waving outside.

"Kid, what are you doing? Waving at a pigeon?" she joked.

"No. It's Riley."

Those three words wiped the grin from her face. "Who's Riley? Does he have a twin?" asked Neal, curiously.

Ignoring him, she questioned Henry about Riley's sudden appearance. Emma had tried everything from ordering her to asking politely that Riley join their trip. Being just as stubborn as Emma, she refused, deciding that it was safer to remain in Storybrooke. He admitted that he had been texting Riley all morning. She was attacked at the town line by a man while hanging out with Vivienne, Regina's assistant, and recognized the man as a lackey of whoever was attempting to find her. Managing to fight the attacker off, she found David and Mary Margaret, who both agreed that it was best for Riley to find Emma in New York. Henry offered to bring her up to the apartment and walked out the door.

"Riley. The young charge you claim ventured through the portal with your and your mother, I assume," said Gold.

"Which you obviously know is a lie."

"I'm not as easily fooled as most people, dearie."

"Fine. We didn't rescue her from the Enchanted Forest. She…I got a note that only I could read and it said that it was my job to protect her."

"From what?" asked Neal.

"No idea. First, she drives past the town line, which I didn't think was possible but I guess it is now because the curse is broken or whatever. Then, she—well, she doesn't tell me anything. I'm pretty sure she only speaks in snark and she's not exactly little miss innocent. Let's just say when I got that note, I expected some helpless little girl, not…her. I saw her in the Enchanted Forest when we were trying to find a way back. She was captured by these men and then she got free and killed them all by herself."

"And how did she arrive in this land?" asked Gold, clearly suspicious.

"No idea. Maybe she had a magic bean or something. You seem to know everyone, Gold. Maybe you know her because all of the backgrounds checks David and I did came up with nothing. She's like a ghost."

Emma was dreading not just seeing Riley again, but her meeting Neal. For someone who never lived in Storybrooke, she knew far too much about the town and its curse. It made David and Mary Margaret both suspicious and anxious. David was less willing to trust a single word out of Riley's mouth. At first, Emma had given her the benefit of the doubt, thinking that her previous guardian told her about the town, but it was impossible for her to have any knowledge of Emma's past. Henry returned to the apartment with Riley, looking the happiest since he learned that Neal was his father. He was the only one who believed that she was a good person under all the snark and insults. The first thing Emma noticed was that the bottom of Riley's blouse was coated in dried blood.

"You were attacked?"

"Didn't you get David's message?" asked Riley, wincing as she sat down on the couch.

"No. My battery's dead. I thought you fixed the barrier at the town line. How did this guy hurt you?"

"I was being stupid. Vivienne and I were just joking around. I wasn't affected the curse so I could pass the line without losing my memories. He came out of nowhere. I only got away because I crossed back over the line," she said, showing the cut across her stomach.

"You don't want that to get infected. I've got a first aid kit."

Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Neal. She had no doubt that if Riley was a guy the same age, Neal would not show that much concern. He was like the boys at Mary Margaret's apartment, the supposedly brave knights who turned into puppies around her. She watched Neal wipe away the dried blood with a wet rag.

"Henry, can you give us a minute? I wanted to talk to Riley about what happened."

"I can—"

"Go on, kid. You're not old enough to hear this kind of stuff."

He shut the door to Neal's bedroom. "So where did you bury this one? Or did you tear him apart and then bury his pieces in different spots?"

To her surprise, Riley's eyes brimmed with tears. "I let him go. He couldn't come after me past the town line so why would I hurt him? You're never going to let that go, are you? I really don't appreciate you and your parents bringing it up all the time. I know I act like it doesn't bother me but it does and I don't need to be reminded of that day over and over again. I know you think I'm such a monster."

"No one said that," said Neal, shaking his head.

"I can see it by how you look at me, Emma. You're judging me because of one thing. How is that fair?"

"Riley, I—"

"You said that I didn't need to do what I did but did you ever think that maybe it was my only option? It's all I've ever known. I've never known another way to deal with it. If I let them live, they could've told—there's a reason that you're protecting me. I'm supposed to stay hidden. It's not like I enjoyed what happened that day. I just did what I thought was necessary. I know I haven't been really open with you but it's just because…if I get too close with my guardians, it hurts more when they're gone."

Emma checked for any sign that Riley was telling a lie. No matter how much she wanted to believe it was all a ruse, she could not deny the tears in Riley's eyes or the tremble in her voice. She knew what it was like to be judged by one's past and it was unfair to judge a complete stranger based on one incident. In a way, Emma saw herself in Riley: a girl with a mountain of trust issues who closed herself off to block out the pain. Gold was not as swayed by her emotional honesty. He interrogated her with question after question, from _Where are you from? _ to _Where did you learn magic?_, and Riley never seemed so tense. She was even too frightened to look Gold in the eye, let alone answer his questions.

"Hey, that's enough. She just got attacked. She doesn't have to answer any questions."

"I disagree, Bae."

"Well, it's not up to you. Do you like pizza, Riley?"

"Yea."

"I was going to get Henry a slice. You can come too. This city has the best pizza."

Emma did not seem to be part of this invitation. When they arrived at the pizzeria, she and Gold were left outside on the street. Gold requested that as another favor, she needed to convince Neal to join them in Storybrooke. He attempted emotional blackmail, claiming that Henry would run away to be with his father like he had done to find her. She was at a loss for words when he also made the assumption that her insistence that Neal would eventually disappoint Henry was more about her, due to some lingering feelings.

"What makes you think that?"

"The look on your face," he said, smirking.

"You have no idea what—"

Gold's smirk faded into a slight frown, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. She was taken aback by two teenagers, the girl not much older than Henry, appearing behind him. More people, ranging from their teens to early forties, followed, surrounding them in a circle. Their wrists bore a marking of a snake eating its own tail though some of them had other unique tattoos.

"Can we help you?"

Not one person spoke, simply staring at her and Gold. "Heh, that's a cool…dragon tattoo," she said to the guy in his early twenties on her left, pointing at the tattoo along his arm.

If their silence was not unsettling enough, the anxious gleam in Gold's eyes was like a giant warning sign for trouble. The only time she had seen him this nervous was when he was face to face with Neal in his apartment.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise."

The small circle broke apart as a man in his early forties walked towards them. His well-coiffed ebony hair and crisp suit gave off an aura of someone who was very wealthy and powerful. She was confused why the people bowed towards him, refusing to make the tiniest bit of eye contact. The man's dark eyes, somehow both cold and warm at the same time, rested on Gold. Emma could not shake the feeling that he was oddly familiar.

"It's been quite some time, Rumplestiltskin."

"A little over thirty one years. You've certainly grown since our last encounter, Marcus. I'm curious how you traveled to this land."

"Just like you, I have my secrets."

He turned towards Emma. "Apologies if they frightened you, Emma."

"I'm not—how did you know my name?"

Instead of answering her, he flashed her a wolfish smile. She glanced over at Gold, expecting some intimidating threat from him, but he remained silent, his eyes narrowed at the mysterious man. The man handed him a sealed envelope.

"I'm throwing a little charity event tonight. You should attend so we can catch up…reminisce about old times. Your son can come as well, if he's willing to stay in the same room as you for more than a few minutes. I hope you'll be there, Emma. My parties are always entertaining."

The group followed him down the street like little ducklings. As he entered a nearby bakery, she grabbed the envelope from Gold and skimmed over the invitation.

_Grand Charity Ball _

_To be held on Friday, 8 October 2012 at 8 PM at Le Paradis _

Her eyes widened when the writing about the charity was erased, replaced with the words _I hope you'll save me a dance, Emma_. She showed the altered invitation to Gold.

"How the hell—unless I'm hallucinating, this message changed by itself. How is that possible?"

"It seems we'll be attending a ball tonight, Miss Swan. I'm afraid you'll need to retire the leather jackets and jeans for the event."

"I'm not going anywhere near this place."

"Are you telling me that you're not the least bit curious how he knew your name? Whatever secrets he holds concerns me as well as you."

"Guessing you want to know how he got to this land."

"That is at the bottom of my list of concerns."

Emma flipped the note over, checking for any weird computer chip that could be altering the message. Coming up with all kinds of theories, she refused to accept the one idea nagging her in the back of her mind: that he was capable of using magic outside Storybrooke…

~Riley~

A monkey would have been harder to trick than Emma and her ex-boyfriend/the Dark One's son. All it took was a few forced tears and a sob story to convince Emma that she was some poor lost girl who was desperate to stay alive and truly regretted killing those men in the Enchanted Forest. Henry seemd to inherit his easily trusting nature from his father, who immediately offered to treat her wound and take her out for pizza. Riley continued to play up her act, pretending to be paranoid of someone just looking in her direction. Handing her a slice of pizza, Neal assured her that she was safe in New York.

He grabbed napkins from the counter. "You don't have to keep looking over your shoulder. No one's going to hurt you, Riley."

"That attack just made me a little paranoid."

Riley followed him and Henry out of the pizzeria. Emma was shaking a piece of paper as if expecting something to fall onto the ground. Henry wanted to return to the apartment for his camera after Neal suggested a visit to some museums. Feeling Gold's eyes on her, she stared at her boots though on the inside, she was smirking to herself.

"You like the New York pizza?" Emma asked Henry with a grin.

"Yea. It's delicious, cheesy, and doesn't lie."

Riley stifled a laugh. Heading back to the apartment, she was a silent observer to the awkwardness between Emma and Neal. She doubted that Emma was asking him to join them in Storybrooke out of any desire for Henry to know his father. Gold stopped him from opening the door to the apartment building.

"There's something that needs to be discussed before we plan any museum trips."

"Kid, why don't you go up to the room and find that camera?" said Emma.

Henry shook his head. "No. Something's wrong. I can tell by the look on your face. Did something bad happen in Storybrooke?"

"Everything's fine there. There was um…well…not sure how to explain it."

"I had a run-in with an old friend from our home."

Neal looked at him, confused. "Our home? Do you mean—how is that possible? The only people from back there are in Storybrooke."

Emma explained that they had been surrounded by a group of people while waiting outside the pizzeria and this 'old friend' had given Gold an invitation to a charity ball later that night. When she had read the invitation, the message suddenly changed to something much more personal. Riley let out a tiny giggle, texting Ethan. Emma snatched the phone from her.

"Hey!"

"What do you know? I'm barely trusting you as it is so if you know something, tell me. You're not giggling over Ethan telling you that his dad grounded him for hanging out with Alec."

"I just think it's ironic that Neal chose to live here."

"Why?" asked Neal.

"Well, you ran away to be as far as possible from magic and you picked this city. You've lived here for awhile and you never noticed it?"

"Stop with the teasing. Whatever you know, you better start talking," said Emma in a stern tone.

"I'll let you hold my hand like a small child and walk you through it. Storybrooke isn't the only place with magic. You all just think it is because that town is your little bubble. This so-called old friend…he wasn't born in the Enchanted Forest. He traveled there."

"How is that possible? Any of it?"

"He's not the only one. There are covens all over this world and while they have different rules, they do have one thing in common. All of them were born with their magic…descendants of magical bloodlines that began centuries ago. His ancestors crossed over here way before Regina cast her curse. The covens used to be in all sorts of magical lands…Enchanted Forest, Wonderland, Oz…"

Neal chuckled. "No, you're wrong. I was a little boy when those covens were still…they were extinguished."

"Extinguished?" asked Emma.

"When they were around in the Enchanted Forest, they were the biggest rulers with their own kingdoms but some misused their magic and it led to a lot of bloodshed. When I was maybe eight, these uprisings began against them with the help of the fairies, the ones who gave those bloodlines their abilities for their ancestors' good deeds. The covens realized that they were being plotted against so they joined forces and one day, there was this huge battle. I only heard stories about it but in the end, all of them were killed…even the kids were slaughtered to prevent a continuation of any bloodline."

"Mostly true but what no one realized is that they never killed a single person in that slaughter. All of the covens just used their own magic to send themselves to another land…a different one to conquer and they landed here. It's the perfect place for their kind. People in this land think of magic as just in books and movies so when they see something out of the ordinary, they pass it off as a hallucination. Once they landed here, the covens split off into their own territories. Over the years, some covens have joined together, whether willingly or by force, and New York has the worst of them all. I know what you're thinking, Emma. How could they possibly keep their magic if someone like Regina couldn't when she cast her curse? They used special protection charms to ensure that their magic was safe and each little generation born in this land has that same charm, allowing them to use magic anywhere."

All four of them had different reactions. Henry, being the most naïve, was excited by the story, his eyes lighting up at the idea that there were cities filled with magic. Neal seemed doubtful while Emma was struggling to understand just how no one ever noticed any magic in this land. Gold, his knuckles turning white from gripping his cane, looked furious. He had spent centuries attempting to travel to this land and while he was powerless outside the small town of Storybrooke, others were able to retain their abilities.

"You should be glad that you can't use magic here. It's banned in the city and punishable by death," she said to Gold, feigning concern.

"But if they have magic, why can't they use it?" asked Henry, wanting to know more about these covens.

"Control. Only those in the inner circle are allowed to cast any spells without permission."

Emma was still unconvinced. "Let's say I believe this crazy story. How does that explain him knowing my name?"

"The same reason I know about Storybrooke. If you want to find out, that museum trip has to wait."

"You know quite a lot about their history. Are you a descendant of one of these covens?" asked Gold, suspiciously, as they walked across the street.

Riley shrugged. "No idea. I only heard the stories from my parents. They were more like independent spirits."

She led them over to _Bacchanal, _a local bar and grill. It was packed from wall to wall with people drinking and grinding on the dance floor. Emma was not amused by her joke that the bar was known as a popular spot for terrible hangovers, alcohol poisoning, and unexpected pregnancies. She kept Henry away from a couple that was practically having sex against the wall. Spotting a young, dark-skinned boy, around her age, behind the bar counter, she told them to wait by the door. She picked up an empty glass and sat down at the bar. The boy was cleaning a mug with a rag, his eyes, half dark brown and half golden, reflected in the glass.

"I need a refill."

He closed his eyes tightly. "Go away."

"Is that any way to treat a customer?"

"You took that drink from an empty table and I won't serve you so technically, you don't count as a customer."

Her fingers brushed against his muscular arm, which was decorated with a heavily detailed tattoo sleeve. "Why are you being mean to me, Gale? I'm just visiting my favorite person in this city."

Hook sat on the other side of her. "And my second least favorite. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm tired of waiting, Renato. That parchment led me to you. Quit dawdling."

Gale eyed him distrustfully. "Why is a pirate in my bar?"

"Has your spell worn off already?" Hook asked her.

"Gods aren't fooled by this petty magic. Glamour spells…why not just throw a paper bag over his head?"

Riley scoffed. "You're really clinging to this god thing, aren't you? I bet that gets you laid a lot since the girls and boys don't realize that you're one for parties and wine. Well, a former god who's now stuck as a bartender. What a way to fall…"

He gripped the mug, the glass cracking under his fingers. Refusing to speak to her, he turned his back, arranging a series of bottles on the shelf. He watched a video on his phone as he picked up a bottle of tequila. Hook was glancing over Gale's, in his mind, strange attire of a muscle tee and jeans.

"He's a god?" he whispered.

"This isn't the time to gossip like schoolgirls. Don't mention it. It's a sore subject. Go back to the hotel now."

"Is your powerless friend going to make me?"

Gale turned around, his eyes turning fully golden. "I am not powerless, you dirty little pirate. Both of you, leave. Whatever mess you've gotten yourselves into, I'm not getting you out of it."

"I just want a drink," she said, innocently.

"I'm not stupid and you know my policy. I don't serve minors, especially stubborn, bratty little girls who don't know when it's best to quit instead of getting themselves into more trouble," he replied, his eyes returning to normal.

She swirled the ice in the empty glass. "You know, everytime you insult me, it just makes me want you more."

"And there's another problem to add to a very long list…thanks to your family issues, no doubt."

"Don't act like you've never thought about it. Instead of watching that weird gaelic movie, why don't we go in the back room and make our own little video?"

He looked at her, shocked. "How did you know that it was…you understand it?"

"Eye contact. Good start."

"If you tell me what's happening in this video, I'll do whatever you want. Just leave right after so I don't get a visit from you know who."

In the video, Gale was making out with a blonde-haired girl in his bed. The image scrambled for a couple seconds before switching to him sitting up in his bed, speaking in gaelic. His eyes flickered between golden and pitch black. The end of the video showed a silvery mist emitting from his mouth. Gale was clueless about how the video was made on his phone.

"Ooh, not good. Someone's trying to steal your magic…whatever's left of it. I'm sure you can guess who would cast that kind of spell."

"That's impossible. He's nowhere near here."

"But his lackeys are everywhere. You hung out with this girl all night?"

"Most of it, yes."

"And I bet you were really drunk. What's the last thing you remember before you passed out?"

"She was singing along to a song on the radio."

Riley waved her hand over his phone, fixing the scrambled parts. As the blonde-haired girl sang, Gale's eyes drooped and he fell unconscious, his head hitting the pillow. The girl straddled him, her eyes turning from emerald green to scarlet red. Her teeth elongated into sharp fangs and with a savage growl, she bit into his neck. Riley stopped the video and handed the phone to Gale, who shared Hook's horrified expression.

"You got tricked by a siren. So much for being an all mighty god, buddy. She bit you so he had an entry point for the spell. It's usually done by inserting a little something under your skin."

"And how do I stop it?"

"Tell me where to find Cassie and I might consider helping you. I'm not too sure. I'll think about it while I talk to her."

"She's in the back, trying to save up enough to pay back her debt."

"Go back to the hotel unless I tell you otherwise. This plan has to be done right or it'll fail miserably," she said to Hook.

Waving Emma and the others over, she brought them into the back of the opened up the last door on the left, letting out a big cloud of smoke. The room smelled like a drug den, the musty odor burning her eyes. In the center of the room, a middle-aged woman was sitting at a small circular table, her hands passing over a crystal ball. Her ethereal beauty was hidden beneath a heavy shawl, tangled chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyeshadow, and dark red lipstick. Beside the crystal ball was an overflowing ash tray. She gave fortunes to a group of teenagers, who looked very skeptical. In all honesty, it was her appearance, reminiscent of a 'crazy cat lady', that worked against her.

"What a bunch of crap. You don't even look like a psychic," said one of the boys.

The woman slammed her hands on the table. "I am the real thing, my dear…unlike those frauds you see on your televisions. Mark my words. You will suffer great tragedy tomorrow night at your dance."

"I'm sure. We're taking our money back."

"Payment can't be refunded simply because you dislike your fortune."

"But it can be when you're a fake, you old hag," he said, taking a pile of money from the table and storming out of the room with his friends.

She muttered under her breath about nasty children while lighting a cigarette. Seeing Riley, she jumped up and embraced her, planting a wet kiss on her cheek and slipping her hand into her coat pocket. Emma took a couple steps back, keeping Henry behind her.

"I thought I'd be seeing you soon…and you brought friends."

"Friends is a loose term. Cassie's a real seer."

"A real one, huh?" said Emma.

"Yes, of course. I'm never wrong."

She grabbed Emma's hand. "Oh, the savior. Such a honor to meet a girl with a bright future ahead of her…though I would cherish this time with your son."

"What?"

"You will lose him soon due to an unforeseen enemy and—oh, don't listen to me. It's not like you people listen to my warnings. No one ever believes Cassandra. They all think I'm some batty woman who needs a good shock treatment in a mental institution."

"Can't imagine why. Riley, is there a reason that we're here?"

"You came to find out why Marcus knew your name. I'm afraid that's my fault. You see—"

Cassandra bristled at the sight of Gold near the door. Her expression turned quite harsh and she hugged her shawl closer to her body.

"Rumple."

"Cassandra, it's been awhile. Last I remember, you were holed up in some cave, muttering prophecies to yourself."

"Yes and now only one of us can use magic outside of your little town. As I was saying, it's my doing that he knew about you, Emma Swan."

"How?" asked Neal.

"I don't control my visions but they are useful. Marcus uses me as a personal spy on his enemies. By a mere touch, I can see into someone's future. He tends to only believe my visions when they concern him. On the day that the queen cast her curse, I had a vision of Storybrooke arriving in this land. It sent the covens into quite the panic."

"But it's been frozen for twenty eight years. Why were they worried?" said Emma.

"Because of you and your role in breaking the curse. Marcus forced me to tell him what I saw in my vision and he spearheaded a movement to keep an eye on the town and anyone connected to it, including you, Neal, and your son. Some of your own foster parents were working for him and purposely sending you back each time, hoping it would delay the inevitable. He even managed to lower the barrier long enough to allow his spies into Storybrooke. For twenty eight years, they gave very few reports. Nothing ever changed until you arrived there and when you did, the reports were far more detailed. He's kept a particularly close eye on you because of your role as the savior. Marcus values control and Storybrooke is a wildcard. Up until he met you and Rumplestiltskin in person, he wasn't sure if its residents were capable of magic outside the town."

"Well, Gold's not so it's not a problem."

"Don't be fooled by his arrogant attitude. Underneath all that bravado, he's very paranoid. Keep your distance from him."

Returning to Neal's apartment, she sensed unease from the three adults, though for different reasons. Emma was unnerved that some of her foster families were wizards and witches in disguise, only taking her in to spy on her for their power hungry, arrogant leader. Neal had thought that this land would be an escape from magic but he had settled down in a city where magic was rampant. Gold did not voice his concerns aloud but they were written all over his face and were the reason why he wanted to attend the ball at _Le Paradis_. Despite Emma's objections, he suggested that if they refused the invitation, it would be suspicious to Marcus and the other members of his coven. Riley was not fooled by his concern that Marcus could harm all of them, including Henry, in retaliation, thinking that he had some underhanded scheme up his sleeve. Henry asked her countless questions about the history of the covens, from their beginnings in the Enchanted Forest to their journey to this land. The enchanted parchment burned in her coat pocket. She peeked at the words scribbled on the parchment: _Enough waiting. The time is now._

"Uh Henry, I think I left my town back at the bar. I'll be right back."

"I can go with you."

"No, it's okay. You get that camera and I can meet all of you at the museum. I shouldn't take too l—"

"What was that?" said Neal, hearing a loud commotion downstairs.

"I don't know," she lied, knowing exactly what made that noise.

"Henry, stay in the apartment. Riley and I are going to make sure everything's okay."

Running down the staircase, they found Emma kneeling in front of Gold, who was clutching his chest. Hook was laying on the floor, unconscious. Neal seemed to recognize him but focused on checking on his father. Gold's fingers were coated in blood. Slinging his arm over his shoulder, Neal helped him up the staircase while Riley and Emma carried Hook into a supply closet. The tip of his hook was covered in a mixture of blood and dreamshade. Emma tied him to a radiator and retrieved the map from his coat. Entering Neal's apartment, they saw Gold laying on the couch, breathing heavily.

"Get this. He had a map on him," said Emma, showing the map to Neal.

"How do you get a pirate ship into New York?"

"It's cloaked. Riley, can you go wet a towel?"

"Sure."

Riley grabbed a towel from the kitchen counter and turned on the sink. As she held the towel under the water, she noticed Gold grab Henry roughly out of the corner of her eye. She flicked her wrist, casting a spell to enhance her hearing.

"_You_ caused this. _You_ brought us back here. _You_ did this!" he hissed, scaring Henry.

Emma sent Henry into the bedroom to charge her phone. "Thanks Riley," said Neal, taking the towel.

The dreamshade already began to spread, making pus seep from the chest wound. Gold knew that the poison was one of Hook's creations and only magic would be able to save him. Hearing them plan to take his ship back to Storybrooke before the poison killed Gold, Riley imagined all the ways to torture Hook for his foolish mistake.

"You know how to sail a pirate ship?" Emma asked Neal, dumbfounded.

"Yea, I do."

"I can heal you, Mr. Gold."

Three pairs of eyes fell on her. "Riley, what do you mean?"

"I don't need to go back to Storybrooke to use my magic. I can try to…well, I can't guarantee that it'll get rid of all the poison. I've never tried the spell before though."

"I know you can do it. If it can keep Gold alive even a day longer, that helps."

Taking a deep breath, she bent down beside Gold and placed her hands over the wound. Her palms glowed bright silver. He groaned in pain and after a few minute, she moved her hands. His chest was bare, showing no trace of an injury.

"You did it," said Henry, happily.

"I can't tell if it worked perfectly. There might be some poison left."

"Hey, he's not dead so I'd say that's a win. See, you don't have to only use your magic to hurt people. It can save them too. There's always another way, Riley."

"I can go check on Hook…to make sure he hasn't escaped that closet."

"Just be careful."

Riley walked into the supply closet. Hook, already awake from being hit over the head by Emma, was using his hook to remove the rope around his wrist. She cast a spell to turn the ropes into shackles, wrapping them around his wrists and ankles.

"I know partnership might be hard for you to understand but when I say not to do anything until I tell you to, it means don't do it until I tell you to…can't get much clearer than that. How did you reverse the glamour spell?"

"Your friend at the pub. You aren't the only one who's witnessed such magic before, Renato. I encountered it myself long ago when I was a boy. A sorcerer had cursed a friend of mine and I helped to heal her."

"Her? A girl could stand you long enough to be your friend? I'm shocked."

"When I told him of the cure, a very simple one that did not need your assistance, he offered to reverse your spell so I could have the satisfaction of the Dark One's face when he realized that I had won."

"You didn't win yet."

"He'll succumb to the poison within the hour."

"Except that I healed him. Before you start shouting, I did it for a reason. I told you that I had a very specific plan and now I have to change it because you got too impatient. You need to be blameless for his death so I healed him…for now. He'll die but not by your hand. By tomorrow morning, the Dark One will be gone. I'll remove the shackles but you're staying under that glamour spell until the job is done. I don't need you making any more mistakes. We're in this together until the end."

Riley removed the shackles and recast the glamour spell over him. "Now I have a party to get ready for so be a good little pirate."

Taking her time to return to the apartment, she peeked at the note hidden in her coat pocket…

~Killian~

As much as he would despise to admit it, Renato was not a terrible partner. She tended to be very meticulous, planning several steps ahead and refusing to allow even the tiniest mistake. He had grown impatient with waiting for her to gain Swan's trust and decided to take matters into his own hands. If he was reluctant to trust that he would bring her to the same place as the Dark One, he was far more hesitant that she would guarantee his death, after saving his life from the poison. She seemed to keep her promises yet he honestly knew very little about her. At most, he was aware that someone was attempting to harm her and she was a gifted witch. Their time together on the _Jolly Roger_ revealed that they shared a common past, both having no family. Though she claimed to not be an orphan, he recognized the look in her eyes from the mere mention of family, having it himself when he lost his father and again when he lost Liam.

Killian had just entered _Le Paradis_, a very extravagant home the size of a small castle. He learned of its origins from the boy at the pub. It was the home of the leader of the most powerful coven in this land, explaining how many covens from the Enchanted Forest had fled to this land during the uprisings. Most would have been surprised to learn that they escaped their own slaughter, putting doubles in their place, but Killian always had a strange feeling that some members survived the attacks. The boy told him how the covens split off into their own 'kingdoms', each taking a specific territory in the land without magic. In Manhattan was a coven three times the size of the rest, due to its leader usurping the power of other covens. Killian theorized that Riley was a member of one of these covens and was proven right when he learned that she healed the Dark One herself, despite not being in Storybrooke. Though she freed him, he decided to attend the ball, wanting to be sure that she was not betraying him. The ball was very similar to ones held in the Enchanted Forest.

He leaned against a pillar, watching Swan with her son, Baelfire, and the Dark One. She held her phone against her ear.

"I want Riley here before we bump into any…unique people. She'd be useful in case they try something against us. You heard that seer. I know she seemed a little…"

"Crazy?"

"But I don't want to take chances."

She jumped as a man in his early forties appeared beside her. "And here I was expecting you to be in a leather jacket. You clean up nicely, Emma."

"Heh, you just use magic in front of all these people. They can't all be in your coven."

He grinned. "I see someone's done their research. I did hear that you paid a visit to Cassandra this afternoon. No, they're not. Some people in this city are aware of magic and they keep it quiet, thanks to my charitable donations and my generous offers."

"Offers?" asked Baelfire.

"To be gifted. How do you think my empire's grown so much? You may have rejected magic, Baelfire—"

"It's Neal."

"Yes, so I've heard. Others aren't as closeminded as you. In this land, they think magic is impossible. They'll do anything to have such unique talents. Emma, would you like to dance?"

"Me? I'm uh—you know, I'm not much of a dancer."

"I insist."

"Yes, Miss Swan, it's only a dance. Go on. It would be rude to refuse Marcus as he is the host of this wonderful party," said the Dark One, his tone sounding more like an order than a suggestion.

With a forced smile, she joined him on the dance floor. Killian was able to overhear bits of their conversation. Due to the glamour spell, he blended in with the crowd, seemingly wearing the same attire. Marcus, who he assumed to be the leader of the coven, kept her very close.

"For someone isn't much of a dancer, you're very good."

"Um thanks. Not sure why you'd want to dance with me when all these women look ready to jump you in bed any second."

"You're the guest of honor tonight. It's not every day that the savior shows up in my city."

"Is that all you know me as, the savior?"

"No. I know very much about you...even things you don't remember. Since you had that visit with Cassandra, I assume she told you that I know about Storybrooke as well. I can tell it bothers you but see it from my point of view. A town pops out of nowhere. I wanted to make sure that you all stay put."

"What does that mean?"

"We've had order for centuries. The queen's curse could've thrown it off balance."

"Or maybe you're just afraid of Gold."

Marcus laughed. "You think I'm afraid of a powerless man with a limp?"

"Why else would you show off so much? If he had his magic, it'd be a different story. I don't think you'd be so quick to meet him in person."

"I've nothing to prove…unlike you. You're the savior. It's quite a title to live up to, Emma, and now that the barrier over the town line is broken, who knows who could show up in your little town? From what I hear, you recently discovered your abilities. You're not much good in a fight yet."

Swan shrugged. "I don't need magic for a fight."

"So confident and yet so naïve at the same time. You've been living in a different world all these years. You just didn't realize it until Henry brought you to Storybrooke. A gun won't stop many. I always find it better to be cautious. It's why I've been in charge all these years."

"And here I thought it was because no one's been able to kill you."

"That as well but I am always ten steps ahead of everyone else. Nothing will ever catch me off guard."

The music changed abruptly from a waltz to a sort of lullaby. A softspoken woman's voice rang through the ballroom.

_Sleep, my little angels_

_Let your dreams carry you_

_To somewhere with_

_A wondrous view_

_Don't be afraid, my brave little ones_

_Mother is always around_

_To chase away the monsters_

_I'll keep you safe and sound_

Swan commented on the odd change in music. Killian was distracted from the soft melody by Marcus's own reaction. He seemed to be in a state of shock, his face paler than a ghost and his hand gripping Swan's very tightly.

"Hey, are you…okay? Oh, there's Riley."

He snapped out of his daze. "Who?"

"This girl I'm taking care of for awhile. She's really sweet. Well, not right away but just give her time."

As the sweet lullaby continued, clearly affecting him, Killian followed Swan's gaze. His heart seemed to leap from his chest. Riley was standing at the top of the staircase, dressed in an elegant, floor-length dress with a plunging neckline. The dress shimmered in the light as if the entire dress was made of crystals. Her long, ebony hair was swept to one side, held together by a silver dove clip. For a moment, the walls behind her changed, becoming golden in color with the tapestries of the kingdom he used to serve with his brother after the loss of their father. Her dress was different as well, reflecting the attire in the Enchanted Forest with the dress, now dark green, having a much fuller skirt and long sleeves. He blinked several times when Liam, dressed in his naval uniform, stood at her side. Linking their arms, they descended down the staircase.

"Have you forgotten to tell me something, brother?" he asked, though he did not open his mouth.

Liam feigned a smile. "No. Your friend has decided to blackmail me as a way of attending the party, little brother. She's under the delusion that I was flirting with the prince's fiancee when I was simply helping her off her horse."

"You need a better story than that, captain. Perhaps I am wrong but if I did mention what I saw to the prince, I think he would believe me over you. He may be betrothed but like any man, he's easily swayed by a beautiful face," said Riley.

"Don't bother fighting with her, Liam. She always wins," said Killian.

His older brother sighed. "Yes, I'm well aware of that. You can stay for no more than five minutes. No stealing from the castle. If you excuse me, I need to speak with the king about an impending journey."

Alone with Riley, as his brother spoke with the king privately, he felt a tight knot in the pit of his stomach. "Ask me."

"S—sorry?"

"To dance, lieutenant. If you stare any harder, you may burn a hole through my head. Ask me before someone else does or you may never have a good excuse to hold me."

"You know my name. When will you call me by it instead of lieutenant?"

"When you have earned it," she said with a mischievous smile.

Killian found himself back in the ballroom in New York. Instead of standing beside him, Riley was walking over to Swan. He wondered if some foolish child cast a spell in the air to cause strange hallucinations.

"Riley, this is Marcus. He owns this place so be nice."

"Always am. It's such a honor to meet you in person. I've heard so many stories," said Riley.

"I'm sure you have. So glad you could attend," he replied in a stilted tone, shaking her hand.

"You know, Riley can use magic too. I think that she's from one of those covens," said Swan.

"How intriguing. I need to attend some business. Thank you for the dance, Emma. Lovely to meet you…Riley."

Marcus vanished from the dance floor. "I'm the only one who flinches at that, aren't I?"

"You'll get used to it. I'm starving so I'm going to look for some shrimp puffs. I could eat those for hours."

Riley wandered over to a table filled with food. Marcus reappeared at her side and whispered in her ear, seizing her wrist roughly. He forced her down a side corridor. Killian stayed two steps behind and hid behind the door of the empty room they chose for their conversation.

"What are you doing here?" asked Marcus, losing all politeness in his voice.

"I came here with Emma. Did your spies not know that she's my newest guardian? Oh right, I altered their memories so they don't recognize me. Don't look so scared. I'm only here for this fancy party."

"Do not think I won't watch your every move."

"I wouldn't expect anything less. Make sure you don't stare at my ass too long, no matter how tempting. It would be even creepier now that I'm older."

He glared, his eyes gleaming with anger. "I won't have you destroying everything I've built."

"I see you haven't changed. Still playing the victim. What exactly did I do to you that was so horrible? I'm curious to hear your latest rewrite of history. What would you call what you did to me?"

"You brought that on yourself for listening to that beast and Sebastian instead of me. Your problems are your own doing."

"You think you're so smart but you're as transparent as ever. You think I don't know why you're being so nice to the savior? I know what you've been doing to Gale for _him _but sadly, that plan's been ruined and you can't use him again. The savior's your backup plan and it would've been the Dark One too but his magic doesn't work out here so it's pointless. We both know how powerful true love magic is…and she's the perfect choice for your gift to him."

"A quick snap of my fingers and I'd summon him right to this room. I'd love to see how confident you are then."

"Go ahead but you won't because deep down, you're nothing more than a little puppy with his tail between his legs that's too scared to upset his daddy who will never appreciate him and just use him to kiss his ass and—"

Her harsh words were silenced by a loud _slap_. "You'll do well to remember to show me respect. You mean nothing to me and even less to him. I told you to choose the right side and instead, you defied me. I see you're still taking on the names of your fallen protectors, _Riley_. He was so good to you, wasn't he? A shame he had to die for such a worthless cause. Would it hurt you more to know that his last memory was of you? I suppose after tonight, I can call you Emma…or have you not grown attached to this one yet?"

As he vanished from the room, she conjured a handkerchief. It trembled in her hand, the encounter leaving her quite shaken. Killian left his hiding spot.

"Renato."

"Are you—what the hell are you doing here?"

"Ensuring that you hold up your end of our deal. I overheard that conversation. Here," he said, reaching for the handkerchief.

"I don't need—"

"You can hardly hold it yourself. Let me."

He tilted her chin up, seeing a shallow cut across her cheek. Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that they could possibly disappear under her skin but that did not hide the single tear trickling down her cheek. He wiped away the blood with the handkerchief.

"Was that true? You take the names of your protectors when they're gone?"

"No. Riley's my name."

"Seems you two share a past. A bit of advice? You may need some sort of gag in your mouth to stop you from insulting people too much."

"Shut up."

"It was a joke, love…though it wouldn't hurt to be more careful with your words. You're lucky it was only a slap. Judging by his anger—"

Riley shoved him to the floor. "Shut up! Just stop talking! He's stupid! You're stupid! Everyone's stupid!"

"Renato—"

Her eyes turned pitch black and the veins underneath became much more pronounced. "Stop acting like you know anything about me! You're just a stupid pirate with a stupid death wish! If you tell anyone what you saw, I'll kill you myself!"

Catching her appearance in a mirror above the fireplace, she rushed out of the room…

~Riley~

"I'm not like him."

Riley repeated the same words over and over again as she hurried down the corridor. Stopping in front of a mirror, she checked her face. Her eyes returned to their usual color. She flicked her wrist, casting a spell to heal the cut on her cheek. Entering the ballroom, she spotted Marcus at the top of the staircase with his inner circle, a group of followers that were closest to him. His mere presence made the room go silent, every face looking up at him with either admiration, awe, or fear.

"I want to thank all of you for attending tonight. As you know, I have a tradition of providing only the best entertainment and this evening will be no different. I happen to have a few guests of honor in my home."

A spotlight shined down on Emma, Henry, Neal, and Gold by the drinks table. "The lovely woman before us happens to be someone very special…the savior. For those of you who do not know the meaning that title holds, Emma is the reason that a curse was broken over a small town in Maine and the reason why one of my old friends could attend tonight. Now I'm sure you've heard the stories of the imp Rumplestiltskin but those stories do not do the man justice. Despite his silly appearance in the stories, he's actually quite fearsome but you wouldn't know it by looking at him."

His followers in the crowd sniggered. Riley felt someone move behind her. Hook was by her side, his eyes on the four 'honored guests'.

"What is he doing?"

"What he always does…putting on a show."

"He came all the way here to be reunited with his long lost son. Isn't that sweet? Who knew that his son would get a little shock himself from this reunion when he met his own son, one who has the savior and Dark One's blood running through his veins? They'll be our entertainment for this evening."

"What?" said Emma as people step towards them from the crowd.

"Do you remember what I told you during our dance, Emma? Now is the time to prove yourself. My guests are here for a fight. If you win, you can leave here with no repercussions. If you lose, it will cost you your life. Would you like to say any last words to your son? I can't guarantee that he'll make it out alive."

"None of us can use magic. How is that fair?"

"It isn't but it does make this a thousand times more entertaining."

"You're a monster."

"I promise to make your death quick. Ladies and gentlemen, let us begin. Fair warning. This will be a short duel so you won't want to miss it."

He snapped his fingers. More of his followers stepped out of the crowd for the fight, some of them looking very bloodthirsty. Henry cowered behind Emma and while Neal searched for a way out of the room, she smashed a champagne bottle on the table to use as a weapon. One of the women sent a spell towards Emma. The marble floor rose up like a wall, deflecting the spell. Riley transported herself in front of them. Marcus fingers dug into the polished railing, angered by her interference and the stunned whispers from the crowd.

"You want a show, right? You won't get one with them. No offense but I'm pretty sure a toddler could kick his ass," she said, nodding back towards Gold.

She removed the dove-shaped clip from her hair, letting her hair fall, and placed it on the floor. "This is your last chance. If anyone wants to pick up that clip, go ahead and I won't beat you senseless."

"Riley, don't. It's not a fair fight," said Neal.

"It's the fairest you'll get."

Not one of his followers picked up the clip, instead getting in their fighting stances. She shrugged and tied her hair up in a ponytail.

"It's your funeral. Who's going to be the brave one and take the first shot?"

His followers were far more disappointing than she imagined, barely able to handle themselves in a fight. She deflected each attack with ease and knocked them out with a single move. As one of the men set his entire hand on fire, he threw a punch at her. She grabbed his hand, extinguishing the flame, and drew an invisible X on the back of his hand. Elbowing the man in the face, she knocked him unconscious and several seconds later, the rest of his followers suffered the same fate.

"Is this the best you've got? I've seen scarier rabbits. Why isn't the ringleader of this pathetic circus in this fight? Oh right, because he's a little chicken shit."

Marcus snarled. "I am not a coward."

"Past experience says different but whatever story you want to make up in your head is fine with me."

He held up his hand and his remaining followers immediately looked to him, stepping back into the crowd. Not saying a word, he jumped down to the floor.

"It won't be as easy with me. Do you honestly want to risk drawing attention? You've done so well hiding all these years."

"Kicking your ass would be worth it. He's really rewarded you for your loyalty. Look at you now…prince of a rat infested shithole of a city."

"I'M THE KING!"

His booming voice echoed throughout the room. She gave a mock cursty.

"Apologies. _King _of a rat infested shithole of a city. It's a very important difference."

"Riley, stop provoking him. Just poof us back to Storybrooke. You don't need to fight him," pleaded Emma.

"It's like fighting a one-legged blind puppy."

"He's right. Using too much magic will draw attention. You told me that was bad. For once, listen to me."

Marcus unbuttoned his suit jacket, tossing it aside. "I'm sorry it's come to this."

"Wow. That almost sounded convincing," said Riley.

A stream of fire, large enough to disintegrate half the crowd, shot out from his right hand. She deflected it by creating a shield from the floor then sent her own fireball, made of bright blue flame, towards him. Unlike the previous fight, Riley needed to put in some effort. Marcus was much quicker and calculated with his moves, meaning she needed to think on her feet. Their attacks, becoming more brutal, had destroyed parts of the manor, from the walls to the ceiling. Most of the crowd, mainly those without magic, had hidden themselves in the corridors to avoid being struck by a spell. Twisting her hand, she levitated him into the air.

"Someone hasn't been watching their iron intake. Good for me, bad for you."

Riley slammed him against all four walls before dropping him onto the floor. He breathed heavily, laying on his back. She wiped a spot of blood from her lip.

"Don't make me finish this the real way. Give up. You're not going to win this one, Marc. You never have before and now, I'm even stronger. Call off your stupid plan and—"

A jet of blue light struck her face, knocking into the drinks table. He stood up weakly, blood dripping from the side of his head. Their fight had left his suit torn to shreds and his hair a disheveled mess. Letting out a low growl, it soon turned into a booming roar and a giant flame emerged from his mouth, taking the shape of a dragon. He cackled like a madman, scaring some of his followers.

"You did call me a monster, Emma. I suppose I hide it well. It seems that you won't have much to protect anymore."

The dragon descended upon Riley, spinning in rapid circles. Ice emanated from her hands, freezing over the flames. As the ice shattered on the floor, she protected herself with an invisible shield. His followers were gathered in a circle, their hands touching in the middle. Chanting quietly, they created a giant ball of golden light that hurtled towards Emma and the others. Riley quickly jumped in front of them and held out her hands. An invisible dome formed around them and she struggled to deflect the blast. The blast was absorbed through her fingers. Traveling all over her body, it illuminated her like a human-sized night light. Redirecting the blast, she created a ball of light twice the size. Marcus stepped back, warily. The ball of light became smaller and smaller until it vanished into nothing. She stamped on her foot, trapping Marcus and his followers in a shell from the neck down, made from the marble floor.

"You've gotten weak."

"This isn't being weak."

She looked at Emma. "There's just always another way."

Neal ushered the silent, terrified crowd out of the manor. Only Marcus and his followers were left inside, struggling against their marble prisons. Henry's arms wrapped around her waist.

"That was awesome!"

Riley tensed up when Emma embraced her with her own one-armed hug. "Pretty awesome but don't ever do this again. I'm too young to die from a heart attack."

"I'll take care of them. I'll put them somewhere that they can't hurt anyone ever again."

Flicking her wrist, she transported herself from the manor. She landed outside of an underground cavern. Mason, freed from the marble, was laying on the ground. He attempted to escape from the cavern but was knocked back by an invisible shield.

"Where are we?"

"You don't recognize your own prison? This is where you send your disloyal followers. The ones at the party are all free and back in their homes."

"Is this for the savior? I'm sure she believed every second of that performance. The Dark One isn't as easily fooled."

"Don't care about him."

"So this is your plan? Leave me in my own prison to rot? I'll find a way to break the enchantment and escape."

"Emma probably thinks it's best to keep you trapped down here…give you time to think about your actions. We both know that you'll never follow me to Storybrooke. You're too much of a coward to face an empowered Dark One. I decided to go with a more lenient approach."

"You being lenient? I'd never believe it."

His eyes widened with fear as she conjured a thin black dagger. It was one of the daggers that she kept hidden in her room at the inn. As moonlight streamed through the cracks, it struck the blade, making it shine like a bright diamond. His breathing became shaky.

"You look nervous, Marcus. I can imagine why."

"You've forgiven Seth?"

"No. This isn't one of his little baby ones. It's the real thing. You're so afraid of his so just think of how painful this one must feel."

"Where did you get it?"

"With the help of my recently deceased friend...the one who gave up his job to the savior. A better question is where did I get _them_?"

She stepped through the invisible barrier. "You're not like him. You won't use it on us."

"Maybe not on Seth or Bash but you? Leaning towards a giant yes. You know, I almost decided not to but that slap brought up some painful memories. It proved to me that you haven't changed a bit."

"You won't. I know we've had our quarrels over the years—"

"Quarrels? Such a cute way of describing them. You should be happy, Marc. I finally came home and you're actually useful beyond being an annoying sycophant."

"You need me."

"Not at all. Try again. If you make me sympathize with you, that will be a feat in itself and I'll let you go."

He nearly tripped over a giant boulder. For the first time since she showed the dagger, he looked into her eyes.

"Family above all, little sister."

She plunged the dagger into his chest. He cried out in pain, his face turning grey and gaunt like a corpse. The effects spread all over his skin and he reached for her neck.

"You were really desperate to use that…something you spit on all those years ago when you chose his side. I'd say that I'll miss you but seeing you like this, there is no greater pleasure. Don't worry. I did learn a few things from Seth. I'll keep you cozy. If it makes you feel any better, you're going to be such a huge help. I couldn't do anything without you, brother."

She conjured a red silk coffin and placed him inside, pecking his forehead. The coffin vanished from the cavern and she returned to Neal's apartment. Emma was straining to get an excited Henry to bed but he was too busy reenacting the fight from the manor. Neal managed to grab him from the couch and carried him into the bedroom, slung over his shoulder. Gold was inspecting the contents of the kitchen cabinet.

"Ah, Miss Renato, back from taking care of that nasty business?"

"Yea. He won't get free anytime soon."

"Good. I wanted to express my gratitude. You were quite impressive."

"Thanks but I wasn't that great. I think I got lucky."

"No, you were smart. It's important to be smart in a fight. When we return to Storybrooke, how would you like to receive some lessons from me?"

"W—what?"

"Well, you did save my life twice today…from Hook's poison and that coven. You're gifted and you may have learned many things from your coven but imagine what you could learn from the most powerful man in all the realms."

"That's…you're serious? That would be amazing."

"I think you'll be my best pupil yet."

The inside of her clutch purse felt very warm. "I'm going to check on the closet. It's probably best if Hook isn't running around the city."

Leaving the apartment, she opened her purse. The enchanted parchment had a new message: _Downstairs_. Hook was waiting by the supply closet. She waved her hand, removing the glamour spell.

"No point in keeping you disguised. By tomorrow morning, that poison will come back and he'll be dead. I'll blame it on Marcus poisoning his drink or something."

"After what you did tonight, Swan would believe anything you say."

"You're right. I just feel bad that you won't get to see the Dark One dead."

An invisible force sent him flying into the closet and the shackles reappeared around his wrists and ankles. She leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. He struggled against the shackles.

"What is this?"

"Plans change, Hook. I decided that it's not good for the Dark One to die just yet."

"We had a deal! You said you would keep your word!"

"And I did. I said that I'd help you get to him. You got close enough to stab him so that counts."

"Release me or—"

"Or what? You can't hurt me."

"I'll tell Swan that this is all a ruse. You didn't save them tonight out of any nobility, Renato. It was to get Swan to trust you. If the Dark One learns of your part in my vengeance, it won't end well. You could hardly stand the attack of a few amateurs."

"Are you sure? Consider this, Captain Hobbles. Maybe, as part of my act, I only pretended to have trouble with deflecting their attack. Also consider that I was holding back tonight. You think what I did at the manor was impressive? It was child's play."

"You can't just leave me here. We had a deal, Renato!"

"You won't be trapped forever. I'm sure someone will find you. The only problem is finding a way back to Storybrooke without your ship. A handsome face like yours shouldn't have trouble with hitching a ride but I think the pirate outfit will make people think you're a little sketchy. I told you that we were in this together until the end. This is the end."

Riley found herself having trouble with shutting the door. "Renato!"

She closed the door, tuning out his enraged shouting. Opening her purse, she pulled out the note from Cassandra given to her during her visit. The note read _Gold is the key to your success. If you want to be one step closer to completing your plan, leave your partner behind_.

"These shackles won't hold me for long! When I get free, I'll—Renato! Do you hear me?!"

She cast a silencing spell over the door and walked up the staircase, tossing the torn up pieces of the note into a trash bin…


	5. Who's Deceiving Who?

Early the next morning, the dreamshade poison in Gold's body returned, rapidly spreading towards his heart. It took very little convincing from Riley that Marcus was the cause for the poison's sudden reappearance, blaming it on an enchantment on the drinks at the party. Emma did not question her suggestion that Marcus sensed the poison and reversed Riley's healing spell to get the last laugh if they managed to survive his sadistic idea of entertainment. With Hook tied up in the supply closet, they decided to take his ship back to Storybrooke before Gold succumbed to the poison. Their hope was that with his magic, he would be able to cure himself. The plan to take Hook's ship led to a shocking surprise for Emma. Meeting Neal's friend to borrow their car, she learned that the 'friend' was actually his fiancee, Tamara.

Riley slightly regretted her plan to gain Emma's trust because it now meant having to deal with personal chats like the one she endured after Emma found out about Neal's engagement. It was not that she was jealous, but seeing an ex-boyfriend in a new relationship was extremely awkward. Feigning sympathy, she told Emma that it was important for Henry to have his father in his life and all the awkward tension between her and Neal would pass over time. While she comforted Emma, she was laughing on the inside, enjoying the drama. It was like being part of a real life soap opera. Upon their return to his shop in Storybrooke, Henry being sent off with Ruby for his protection, they prepared for the inevitable attack from Cora and Regina.

During their adventures in New York, the two women had plotted to find Gold's dagger in order to control him and get what they desired: Henry for Regina and most likely power for Cora. Though Mary Margaret and David located the dagger first, thanks to information from Gold, Cora used one of Mary Margaret's old servants against her, threatening to crush the woman's heart. Their inability to let an innocent person die forced them to hand over the dagger. Losing her servant caused a shift in Mary Margaret's morals, who wanted nothing more than Cora's own death for her role in killing not only her servant but her mother when she was a child. Though she was more than willing to take part in the fight, more to watch them smack each other around than out of any concern for Gold, Emma wanted her to stay far away from the shop. She was worried that Riley had used enough magic to protect them in New York and did not want to draw more attention after the supposed attack at the town line.

Riley managed to keep an eye on the fight while catching up with her friends at _Granny's_. She had expected it to end one of two ways: Regina and Cora's imprisonment or Gold's death. Not one of her possible scenarios lived up to what had actually happened that day. Mary Margaret used an enchanted candle to curse Cora's heart and tricked Regina into sticking the heart back into her mother's body. The curse led to a trade of sorts, leaving Cora dead and Gold alive. Her risky decision rid the town of the Cora problem but reignited the feud between her and Regina and every resident was on edge, refusing to walk anywhere alone or at night in case they bumped into an enraged Regina.

Riley was brushing her hair in the bathroom. Her friends had gotten a little overprotective after her return from New York. Vivien being the only person to know that the attack at the town line was a lie, the rest believed that the assault was the reason for her sudden departure from the town. The boys, especially Ethan, had gotten particularly protective, not leaving her side for more than a minute unless she was in her room at the inn. She became a regular visitor to their training sessions in the woods, watching them hit each other with wooden swords for hours.

"Are you ready to go, Riley?" she heard Ethan say.

"Yea. I just need to get my—"

Opening the bathroom door, she saw him holding a porcelain music box with painted white doves and white roses. He lifted the lid and a soft melody began to play from the box. She snatched it from him, making him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Why are you touching that?" she asked, shutting the lid.

"I was just—"

"I don't like when people touch my stuff."

"I'm sorry. Let me put it back."

"I'll do it."

Riley placed it on the nightstand carefully, repeatedly moving it in different angles. "Riley?"

"It was facing the window a certain way."

"Does it matter if it's not—"

"Yes. Everything's supposed to be a certain way or…"

"Or what?"

"I just like it that way, okay? It's a habit," she replied, tensely.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I know it's been hard to deal with what happened at the town line and honestly, I still don't understand everything you said about those covens and magic being possible outside of Storybrooke. Are you worried that whoever attacked you will cross the town line?"

After the 'attack' at the town line, Riley was unable to maintain the cover story created by David. She confessed most of the truth to her friends, telling them as much as Emma knew, from the covens spread throughout the world to why she had driven into Storybrooke. Her friends, at first, thought that she was pulling a prank but a little display of magic, just a simple color-changing charm on her hair, while she stood on the other side of the town line was enough to prove she was being honest. They struggled to understand how people from the Enchanted Forest had traveled to this land centuries ago and why some covens, like the one led by Marcus, wanted to spy on the town.

"I don't want to think about that. Can we go?"

Riley followed him down to the woods. "My mother had a music box when I was younger. It wasn't as nice as yours but she always used to play it to help me sleep. Have you had that one for a long time?"

"Since I was three. My mother gave it to me," she said, pushing back a tree branch.

"I guess she's not around anymore. I didn't—I need to work on thinking before I say something. Is there a spell for that?"

"It's okay. She died about a year later after I got that box."

"What about your dad or any other family?"

"They're not around either."

"Were they magical too?"

She nodded. "Did um whoever is after you kill them?"

"No. The covens are like feuding families. My mother used to say that after they had to leave the Enchanted Forest, each one blamed the others for having to flee and it just led to bad blood. My family got caught in one of the fights. I was a lot younger than my other siblings so I was stuck in the house. That's why I have people like Emma to watch over me now."

"I can't even imagine what it must've been like growing up here. I mean, back home, magic is everywhere so no one had to hide it but in this land, they'd probably dissect you if they saw you so much as levitate a pencil."

The other knights were in the midst of practicing in a large clearing. Alec tossed Ethan a wooden sword and while they had a pretend duel, she conjured a picnic blanket to sit on the grass. Riley quickly grew bored and played games on her phone. Her slaughter of a horde of zombies was interrupted by a text message from Seth. The message had no words, just a picture of an angry cat with the caption _I found Marc's doppelganger in Paris_. A small smile tugged at her lips but it was soon replaced with a scowl.

"He does this every time. I'm not falling for it," she muttered, deleting the message.

"Falling for what?"

Ethan was standing in front of her. "A game I'm playing. It's trying to trick me into this abandoned hallway but I know that there are just hundreds of zombies waiting to kill me there."

"Instead of zombie killing, why don't you practice with us?"

"I'm not a knight, Ethan."

"You don't need to be one to learn how to fight."

"Don't think wooden swords are going to do much damage against someone with magic."

"You never know. Come on, it'll be fun."

He grabbed her hand and lifted her up from the grass. Handing her a sword, he showed her fighting stances and basic techniques.

"Ready to try an actual fight?"

"I guess so," she said with a shrug.

"I'll go easy on you since it's your first time."

The boys placed bets on how long Riley would last in the fight. Alec had the most confidence in her, betting that she would strike Ethan at least once. She moved her feet into the fighting stance. Ethan attacked first, swinging his sword. They went back and forth for several minutes until she disarmed him in one swift movement.

"Nice one," said Alec, smiling.

"Beginner's luck. Besides, Ethan was going too easy. I'll have a go," offered Charles.

"Be careful, Riley. Charles is known for his sneak attacks."

"Sneak attacks? Is that what you call it when someone is just naturally better than you?"

Charles took Ethan's place, flourishing his sword. She brushed her hair out of her face and was startled by the sight in front of her. Instead of Charles, Hook was holding the sword though it was not made of wood. The only differences in his appearance were his attire, which was a naval uniform instead of his usual pirate garb, and his hair, tied up in a short ponytail. He looked younger, possibly his early twenties. Raising the sword slightly, he smiled at her.

"I have a confession. I may have been letting you win all these years."

"Is that so, lieutenant? Sounds like a lie to me. You simply don't wish to admit that I will always be the better fighter. If it weren't for my lessons, you wouldn't be able to slice a piece of wood in half, let alone hold that sword."

"Shall we make the usual bet? If you win, I will sneak you into the castle for an hour. If I win, you have to start calling me by my name, not lieutenant."

"I hope you are prepared to cover for me. You will need quite the story to explain to the prince why his clothes have been torn to shreds and why one of your medals was left in his room. I look forward to hearing your latest tall tale."

They fought far more roughly than she had with Ethan. He showed little restraint despite her being a girl. Dodging his sword, she shoved her shoulder into his chest, knocking him into a nearby pond.

"You cheated. Bad form," he said, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Thus why you will always lose to me, lieutenant. In a real fight, no one cares about good form. They only care about winning, no matter what it takes…"

"Hey! I'm pretty sure this is cheating!" she heard.

Her surroundings changed back to the clearing. All of the boys were levitating in the air, some of them upside down. She waved her hand to reverse the spell, causing all of them to fall onto the ground. Charles rubbed his back.

"Was I getting too good so you had to use magic? Not fair."

"I…spaced out. Sorry. Do you want to start over?"

"No, too hungry. Let's get to _Granny's _before it gets too dark. I don't want to be out if Regina decides to conjure a dragon to burn down the town," he said, earning a smack upside the head from Ethan.

Two days had passed and Riley could not get that strange daydream out of her head. She found herself unable to explain how it felt so real or how she even thought up such a weird image. Part of her wondered if it was due to guilt from leaving Hook behind in New York but she quickly dismissed that theory, doubting a centuries old pirate would get her to feel remorse for the first time in years. She reminded herself that abandoning him was for the best, to ensure that her plan was a success. To keep her mind off the daydream, she focused on her lessons with Gold. He started off with very easy spells to test her knowledge and Riley pretended to struggle in the beginning to downplay her true abilities.

Riley was walking towards his shop. She deleted a barrage of texts from Seth, over a hundred sent since midnight, not bothering to read any of his pathetic attempts to gain back her trust. As she passed the ice cream shop, a pair of hands covered her eyes. She smelled a familiar lavender scent.

"Guess who."

"You know, saying something kind of gives it away."

"Buzzkill."

Vivienne lowered her hands and gave her a whole wheat bagel with strawberry jam. "Strawberries were always your favorite. I thought this would be easier to eat during magic lessons than a bowl of them."

"Thanks."

"Okay, what's going on with you? Ever since you got back from New York, you've been acting weird. Did something happen?"

"When I was at the training session, Ethan offered to teach me how to use a sword. I was practicing with him and then Charles wanted a turn but instead, I saw Hook…but it wasn't Hook."

"That's not vague at all."

"It's hard to explain. I don't even know how to—it was him but he looked younger and he was fighting me instead of Charles. It felt so real. It was almost like a memory."

"Pfft, that's insane. I think you'd remember meeting someone like him. Why would you even—that's just silly. It's not a memory. You were probably just feeling guilty about leaving him there. Not that you should feel guilty. I'm glad you decided to leave his worthless ass in that closet."

Riley looked at her, strangely. She was used to Vivienne's gleeful tone about the subject of leaving Hook in New York. Her dislike for him came from him being a pirate and his reputation back in the Enchanted Forest. What was strange was how fast she spoke, as if she wanted to immediately change the subject.

"Why are you so happy that I left him there?"

"Because he's a stupid pirate and I never trusted him."

"That's all?"

"And I didn't like how he looked at you."

"Pretty sure every time he looked at me, he was imagining me being eaten by a pack of wolves."

"Besides that. I know his reputation with women. You're beautiful, smart, fiery…why wouldn't he try something?"

"Because I would have cut off his other hand. Maybe I should talk to Gold about it. I'll just say it was someone else besides Hook in the dream and—"

"Don't!"

"Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?"

"You can't risk that. Gold's not as naïve as the rest of the people in this town. He'll see right through you if you're not careful. It was a one time thing. Just forget about it."

"Viv—"

"I need to stop by the flower shop. I'll see you later."

Before Riley could question her about her strange behavior, she disappeared behind the door of the flower shop. Taking her advice to forget about the daydream was easier said than done. She opened the door to Gold's shop. He was in the back room, flipping through a dusty book. Hiding behind the wall, she peeked at the title of the book: _Origines Magia. _She had first heard about the book from her mother, who had her own collection of magical tomes. The book detailed the accounts of how the first people were given magic, leading to the creation of the magical bloodlines in the Enchanted Forest.

"Mr. Gold?" she said, using a spell to shut the door again.

He folded the top corner of one page and closed the book. Placing it back on the shelf, he left the back room. Riley pretended to examine a ship replica on the counter.

"Miss Renato, ready for today's lesson?"

"Are we doing something more exciting than turning a rat into a teacup?"

"I think we can move onto something a bit more challenging."

"What is this, a makeup lesson?" she asked as he conjured a compact mirror in her hand.

Gold chuckled. "Not exactly. Are you familiar with mirror magic?"

"Yea, it lets you see anywhere. It's mostly used to spy on others. I learned that when I was five."

"Impressive but our lesson is slightly different. Magic to gaze into the past…any moment from this land or another."

"What do you want me to find?"

"Anything. It can be quite difficult. The spell requires great concentration. While you focus on achieving that in this mirror, we need to make a short visit. Follow me."

He brought her into one of the mausoleums in the cemetery. She remembered that Regina's underground vault was hidden inside and was one of her well-known hiding places. Since her mother's death, no one had seen Regina and Ethan suspected that she was spending time in the vault. Descending down the staircase, she spotted a teary-eyed Regina placing a red rose on top of a coffin. Judging by the fury in her eyes, her anger was not just directed towards Mary Margaret. She blamed Gold for her mother's death, the enchanted candle coming from his shop.

"If you've come to gloat—"

"I came to pay my respects," he said, placing another rose on the coffin.

"And what exactly is she doing here?" she asked, referring to Riley.

"Miss Renato is my newest pupil."

She scoffed. "You must be joking."

"Not at all. She's a fast learner. She may just be my best student yet."

"Sorry about your mom. Doesn't look like it but I am weeping on the inside. It's such a tragedy," said Riley, staring into the compact mirror.

"I don't need feigned compassion from an insolent child."

"I'd probably sound more sincere if I actually gave a damn. Don't have to be a seer to know she would've ended up here somehow."

Gold kept Regina back with a small invisible shield. "Miss Renato, let us not speak ill of the deceased. Why don't you go upstairs and keep working on our lesson?"

Riley stopped halfway up the staircase, eavesdropping on their conversation. "I see right through you, Gold."

"And what does that mean?"

"I learned the truth about her from Alaric…who learned it from Ethan after some persuasion. You're not offering these lessons out of the goodness of your heart. How long before this precious student dies at your hand?"

"I have no intention of harming her. Miss Renato is a gifted young girl. Why would I destroy such a promising talent?"

"Keep up the charade. It can only last for so long."

The conversation shifted to Regina's thirst for vengeance. In her mind, it could be sated by Mary Margaret's death. Gold attempted to dissuade her, insisting that she could not get her vengeance and Henry. She simply denied that a choice between the two was necessary, her mother's death sending her into a state of delusion. Realizing that it was pointless to reason with her, he sent Riley back to the shop while he visited Mary Margaret's apartment. She sneaked into the back room and picked up the book he left on the shelf. The page he had been reading contained inscriptions for a spell, the words in a strange language. Beside the words was a intricate drawing of a brain. Hearing the door open, she waved her hand over the mirror. An image of a young girl climbing a tree was reflected in the glass.

"I don't recall the lesson involving a book," said Gold, entering the back room.

Riley blushed. "I was um—they all look so interesting. This one in particular but I don't even know what language this is so I've just been looking at the pictures."

"It's the language of your ancestors. They wrote the first spellbooks after they were bestowed their gifts. You know, at the time that they seemingly perished, I had only been the Dark One for a few months but in that short time, I learned some of their secrets. After their defeat, there was looting in their castles for days. Everyone was scooping up all the treasure they could carry but I knew the true treasure was contained in these books. Unfortunately, I did not know until it was too late that every single book in their libraries was written in this language. Your ancestors were quite clever. They made sure that only their descendants could learn the language and only they could uncover their contents."

"Then why keep them?"

"Because they contain very powerful, very dark spells…spells that are secret even to myself. I was hoping to find the answer to Belle's memory problem in that book but alas, my magic cannot break through their enchantments. Do you know this language?"

"My mother mentioned it once. Cyn—cynth…"

"Cyntaith. I suppose you've never learned it but I do have this from an old friend. He was a purveyor of rare objects. This is a key to deciphering the language. I'm sure you're thinking why I haven't used it to translate the spells in these books but as I said, your ancestors were clever. It can only be read by descendants of their bloodlines," he said, grabbing a thick red journal.

He handed the journal to Riley. "I can see that you're good with mirror magic. Here's your next lesson. Learn this language until you are able to translate the memory spell."

"You want me to learn an entire language?"

"Will that be a problem for you, dearie?"

"No. I learned to speak thirty languages fluently by the time I was seven. How hard can a dead language that hasn't been spoken for centuries be?"

"That can wait for now. I'm afraid we have other business to attend to at the moment."

Leaving the shop with Gold, she was surprised to see David outside on the sidewalk. He shared the same expression and looked between the two of them.

"Riley, what were you doing in the shop?"

"I've been giving her a few lessons," said Gold.

"Does Emma know that?"

"I hardly see why Miss Swan would object. My teachings could help Miss Renato protect herself from whatever malevolent force seeks to harm her. She hasn't been slaughtering puppies to summon dark spirits, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oddly, I don't think she'd need to be your pupil for me to believe her capable of that."

Riley rolled her eyes. "You do know that I saved your daughter's life, right?"

"One good deed doesn't suddenly make you a good person."

"Because you are just a paragon of virtue yourself."

"This isn't the time for this discussion. Let's go."

Returning to Regina's vault, they searched for any clue to her plans. A small corner of the vault, filled with Cora's belongings, was ransacked, broken vials and torn dresses scattering the floor. Riley noticed two empty spaces in a case of potions ingredients. Gold believed that the missing ingredients were for the curse of the empty-hearted. When he explained the effect of the curse, how it made a person love the caster, to Emma and David in their apartment, both looked confused.

"Doesn't that break magic laws? You can't bring someone back to life, you can't force someone to love you…"

"It's not actual love. It just makes someone think they're in love with whoever cast the curse. Besides, those laws aren't really laws. I've heard stories of people doing those things. There was this one rumor of some crazy lady using a curse like this on some guy and after she popped out like ten kids, she lifted the curse because she thought he would fall in love with her on his own…but he just freaked out about magic being real. I think it ended with him killing all of them and then turning the gun on myself," she said with a giggle, twisting open an Oreo.

Emma crossed her arms. "Why would you think that's funny?"

"Other people being stupid makes me laugh."

Henry was at the bottom of the staircase. "She's going to use it on me, isn't she?" he asked, referring to the curse.

"Obviously. If she really goes full on psycho, she might just kill the whole town until it's only the two of you and then…well, you might need to get started on sex ed a little early."

"Riley!" said Emma, glaring.

"I'm just preparing him for the worst."

"I have a better idea. Don't talk."

Being a stubborn brat, he refused to not know the truth about the curse. Gold explained that one of the ingredients was the heart of the person the caster hated most and with the curse, Regina would get both Henry and her revenge on Mary Margaret. He had no interest in helping them stop her from casting the curse. Though he owed Mary Margaret a debt for her role in saving his life, he suggested that warning them about Regina's plan was enough payment. He showed very little concern for her life or Henry's, despite the latter being his grandson. Emma and David wondered if the only option was to get rid of Regina permanently, the very idea scaring Henry and making him run out of the apartment. Emma grabbed her coat and chased after him.

"I don't care if you think that debt is paid. Until we deal with Regina, you need to keep her safe," David said to Gold.

"Do I?"

"If it wasn't for her, you'd be dead right now. I'm not asking you to stop Regina yourself but at the very least, you can make sure she doesn't get anywhere near Mary Margaret's heart."

"I believe our lesson is over for today, Miss Renato."

Gold walked over to Mary Margaret's bed, where she had been laying for the past week. "Riley, you should go find Emma and Henry."

"What, no doggy treat?" she asked David.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't need to be ordered around like some pet. You clearly have a problem with me despite the fact that I saved Emma's life. I mean, I could've let her die that day…Henry too."

"Exactly why I don't trust you."

"Do enlighten me."

"You were butting heads with all of us for days then you go to New York and you suddenly turn over a new leaf? You showed concern for Emma dying before but then you saved her life at that ball. I know your type, Riley. People like you don't do something out of the goodness of their hearts. It's because they want something."

"You're right. I did have an ulterior motive for saving her. By now, everyone knows about that fight and they won't even try to come to Storybrooke. I'm tired of moving from place to place after I lose a guardian."

Leaving the apartment, she searched for Emma and Henry, eventually finding them at _Granny's_. Henry was sitting in a booth with Neal while Emma was at the counter, waiting for a coffee. Riley sat beside Neal in the booth as Henry accused him of bribing him with a large sundae.

"Hey Riley. Since Henry doesn't want this awesome sundae, why don't you have it?"

"Not enough hot fudge," she said, pointing her finger at the sundae.

The spell added more fudge over the ice cream and she grabbed a spoon. "Is that a spellbook?" asked Henry, interested.

"Yep. I got it from Mr. Gold for my lessons."

"You're uh taking lessons from my dad?" asked Neal, concerned.

"Nothing too advanced. He wants me to practice a few spells in here."

"But it's just a bunch of weird shapes," said Henry, squinting at the crudely drawn symbols on the page.

"It's a magical language."

"Can you read it?"

"Of course. How could I practice spells if I didn't know it already? This line here says that it's a spell to make you smarter," she said, running her finger along the top line of the page.

"Cool. Could you teach me to read it too?"

"Heh, let's talk about something else, huh?" said Neal, clearly not wanting Henry anywhere near magic.

Half-listening to their conversation, she waved her hand over the page. The symbols began to alter themselves until they resembled English words. It was a translation for the memory spell. Neal offered to bring Henry back to New York until they settled the Regina problem. With Regina unable to use magic outside of Storybrooke, she could never cast her curse on him. Henry had a different solution in mind: get rid of the magic in Storybrooke.

"It would solve everything. Don't you think so, Riley?"

"Oh yea, you should totally get rid of it…like blow it up. I can't see how that could possibly have any bad consequences."

"Well uh until then, why don't you come with me?" asked Neal.

Henry agreed to stay with him in New York. Getting out of the booth, he headed towards the bathroom, carrying his backpack.

"Listen, you should be careful around my dad."

"I told you that I'm just learning little spells."

"That doesn't matter. He saw what you could do in New York, Riley. As much as he wants me to believe he's changed, I still feel like he hasn't and these lessons could just be an excuse."

"For what?"

"Something bad. If he sees you as a threat—"

She giggled. "A threat? Neal, I may have magic but I could never compare to the Dark One."

Emma walked over to the table, holding a cup of coffee. She seemed surprised that Henry agreed to Neal's offer.

"Wait, where's his backpack?"

"Uh he took it with him."

"To the bathroom? Did you really fall for that? He's _your_ son."

"He's running," he said, finally putting two and two together.

"Genius deduction," replied Riley, reading the ingredients for a spell.

"Did you know—why didn't you say anything?"

"He's your kid, not mine. A+ parenting, by the way."

"Neal, go talk to Ruby. Maybe she can track him or something. I'll tell David to meet us."

As Neal spoke with Ruby, Emma gripped her shoulder. Riley mentally prepared herself for a lecture about something like not keeping secrets.

"I have a favor. You've been in the woods, right? When Ethan and the others do their little training sessions?"

"Yea. They drag me there all the time."

"So I bet you know all the hiking trails. I was just thinking that maybe you could go on the trails and if you just happen to bump into Greg Mendell—"

"The guy who drove into town?"

"Yea, looks like he's staying for awhile. If you see him, maybe you could talk to him. Who better to find out why he's staying than someone as smart as you?"

"You want me to flirt with him."

"I never said—"

"You could only be more obvious if a sign was flashing above your head. You just can't do it yourself because if Henry sees you, he'll get all grossed out and bombard you with questions. What do I get out of it?"

"The satisfaction that he won't find out about magic and possibly expose you to the world?"

"Is that the best you've got, Emma?"

She sighed. "What do you want?"

"I want you to let me leave the town for one day, no questions asked."

"Why—no questions asked, right. Fine. Only one day but if I hear about anything bad that can be connected to you, you'll be lucky if you can leave your room to get a latte."

With a flick of her wrist, Riley transported herself to the woods. She conjured a camera in her hand and walked along one of the trails. Hearing Henry's voice, she hid behind a tree. Breathless, he was speaking to a man in his mid-thirties with short dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. Henry lied that he was in the woods for boy scouts. The man looked suspicious but did not question him further, continuing down the trail. Leaving Henry to run in the opposite direction, she followed the man. While he was busy taking pictures of some bird, she moved farther up the trail and waited for the right moment to purposely bump into him.

"I'm so sorry. I should've been watching where I was going," she said, apologetically.

"It's okay. I think I'll live," he replied with a chuckle.

"I'm such a ditz sometimes. I get so caught up in taking pictures that I zone out. You're not from around here, are you? It's just that I rarely see anyone else in these woods."

"I'm uh the guy who crashed his car outside town. Dr. Whale thought it would be good for me to get on my feet so I thought I'd take some pictures."

As he spoke, she peeked inside his head. She glanced at the picture on his camera.

"That's such a good shot of a palm warbler. I never get that lucky."

"You like nature photography too?"

"It's a little hobby. Is that the time already? I need to get to _Granny's_ before my friends freak out. It was nice meeting you…"

"I'm Greg. Nice meeting you too," he said, shaking her hand.

The minute hand on his watch began to spin rapidly. "You might want to get that fixed. Have fun on your hike."

"T—thank you. I uh never got your name."

She smiled. "Maybe I'll tell you next time."

Giving him a small wave, she left the woods. Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. Knowing that it was Emma, she answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked, flicking her wrist.

"How did it go? Did you uh see him?"

"Yep. We talked and I left."

"What? You were supposed to—"

"It's called playing hard to get, Emma. It took like less than five seconds for him to get a hard-on so he'll want to find me again. These things take time."

"Fine. Did you see Henry in the woods?"

"No. Why?"

"Because he apparently grabbed dynamite from the mines for his plan to get rid of magic. I figured that he was heading for the well. It's where Gold brought magic to the town."

"Didn't see him. I'd come help but I promised to work on something for Mr. Gold. Good luck," she said, entering the mines.

Riley stopped at the end of the main tunnel. The rocky wall vanished, revealing six red silk coffins, a map that extended across the back wall, and a full-length mirror. She opened the coffin closest to her. Marcus was resting inside, his eyes shut and his skin dark grey. The thin black dagger stuck out of his chest.

"I should've dropped this into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean the moment that dagger pierced your heart but I thought you'd want to have some family time. Gabe's here and so is Melanie. It was difficult to find them but I did it. I know you missed her most of all. Soon, we'll all be together, just like Mother wanted, and you'll get a chance to fix your mistake…the one you made all those years ago."

The glass in the mirror shimmered brightly, the image of the mines replaced by island scenery. She watched a boy around sixteen with tousled sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes move through the trees, holding a spear. His thin frame and baby face features made him look even younger though the dirt on his face helped to give him a rugged appearance. He carefully tracked a wild boar until it got caught into a snare trap.

"Ca coo!"

A group of boys arrived at the same spot, carrying various makeshift weapons like knives and spears.

"Ooh, so macho. Hunting down a pig."

Vivienne was standing at the entrance to the hidden passage. The image faded, returning the mirror to normal.

"Did they believe you?"

"Yep. I pretended to have a nasty stomach virus. Celeste is all paranoid that Regina cursed me. She thinks she knows all about illnesses because she's a nurse. They won't bother me for days."

"We won't be gone long. I'll text Emma once we're already past the town line. She's busy with her idiot son so she probably won't read it until tomorrow morning."

"And what are we doing?"

Riley handed her the book from Gold's shop, tapping a specific page in the middle. Vivienne's eyes slowly widened to the size of grapefruits as she skimmed the page.

"I've got most of them already. The last ingredient is a little tricky."

"A little? More like impossible. They were abundant in the Enchanted Forest but in this land, I doubt it."

"I thought so too until I got a little voicemail."

Leaving the mines, she played a recent voicemail from Seth. "You can't avoid me forever. I know you're trying to ignore my messages but eventually, you'll cave and you definitely want to listen to this one. I heard a rumor about a little emerald hidden in this land. Imagine what we could do with it. We don't have to tell Bash but I won't tell you until you call me back."

"Tell me you didn't call him."

"I'll never be that desperate. I've been keeping an eye on them and had someone close to him find out what he knows. We just need one more little thing to get to it. Call it killing two birds with one stone."

Together, they quietly walked back to the inn, making sure to avoid most people on the street. Riley opened the door on the passenger side of her car and tossed Vivienne a small pouch. Inside the pouch was a potion, modeled after the one used by Gold to leave Storybrooke.

"Pour it over something that means a lot to you. As long as you have that object, you can pass over that line without losing your memories."

Vivienne reached under her shirt, pulling out a golden dove-shaped pendant attached to her necklace. The gold around the dove's wings was slightly rusted. She watched Vivienne pour the potion over the pendant.

"You still have that?" she asked, surprised.

"It was a gift from you. Why wouldn't I keep it? Do you remember when you gave it to me?"

"You were freaking out over a bad dream and I said it would protect you."

"I knew that as long as I had this, I'd see you again."

"We should go before anyone sees us leave."

Vivienne proved to be a restless passenger. Never having ventured outside Storybrooke, she was fascinated by all the different sights during the drive. She also asked hundreds of questions and as it passed midnight, Riley was growing tired of them.

"Where are we going?"

"A little town in Pennsylvania. You're going to need to brush up on some old skills. I doubt you used them much since you were frozen in a loop for twenty eight years."

"It's not something you forget but I could practice now."

Leaning across the seat, she pecked Riley's cheek. She began to leave a trail of soft kisses along her jawline while one hand rested on her inner thigh. Riley kept her eyes on the road, trying to ignore the hand disappearing under her dress. As Vivienne's lips reached hers, all politeness seemed to vanish, the kiss becoming far more passionate. Riley found herself giving in, tasting her strawberry lip gloss, until she shoved her back into her seat. Breathing heavily, Vivienne turned towards her.

"What was that?"

"I'm focusing on our mission. Practice on some teenage boys at the gas station."

"Why are you acting like this? Is it someone else?" she asked, visibly upset.

"Don't start. It isn't anybody else. All I care about right now is getting what's in Pennsylvania. I didn't bring you with me so we could rip off each other's clothes in the backseat like a couple of horny teenagers."

"Well, when you get it, maybe we could…"

Riley scoffed. "All these years and you're still the same. My plan relies on a lot more than an emerald. Until it's finished, it's all I care about, Viv."

"Except for what's in New York," she muttered, bitterly.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Did you have one of those weird daydreams again?"

"No. Like you said, it was probably a one time thing and I shouldn't feel guilty. He was just another part of my plan, that's all."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vivienne let out a relieved sigh. By the next morning, they arrived in the small town of Hillford. Though Seth's friend had given her the location of the emerald, actually retrieving it required a little more effort. Hillford was a very close-knit community and it did not take long for her to track down someone who was friendly with her real target.

"It's Emma again. Should I let it go to voicemail?" said Vivienne.

"Hello?" asked Riley, answering the call.

"I know you said no questions asked but it wouldn't hurt if you told me that you were leaving town last night."

"Slipped my mind."

"I can't ask where you are or what you're doing but—"

"I am visiting a friend. We're sitting in his apartment, watching some scary movies."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. Contrary to what you think, I do have friends. Are we done, mother?"

"And you swear that you're not hurting anyone?"

"Cross my heart. I have not laid a hand on a single person. I'll text you when I'm on my way back."

Riley hung up the phone. "That's not good enough, sweetheart. A little further."

A man in his late thirties, with graying dark hair and a construction uniform, was sitting in the backseat of her car, a metal pipe through his stomach. He groaned in pain as he pushed on the pipe.

"I did tell her that _I _wouldn't lay a hand on anyone. I never said they couldn't do it themselves."

Vivienne giggled. "I don't know where he is," said the man, speaking with a Southern accent.

"That's a lie, Oliver. Let's not play this game. You people never win. You think you have it so much better in this land but anywhere you go, you'll always be the lapdogs. It's tragic. Instead of trying to be all tough, just tell me where I can find him."

"No."

Riley patted his knee. "I know you've got that whole pack loyalty thing and I admire that but for once, think about yourself. I bet you'd hate to leave your kids fatherless."

"I honestly don't know where he is right now. He's been training the younger ones ever since we lost Elena and a few others. I don't know where he goes for the training."

"Then I'll have to bring him to me, won't I? You can take that pipe out and leave now."

He removed the pipe from his stomach. Within seconds, the wound healed though the blood stains remained on his uniform. As he left the car, she cast a locater spell and followed it to a bar five miles outside the town. A group of teenagers, some as old as Vivienne, were sitting at the tables. Riley waved her hand over the window and all at once, the group fell unconscious. Riley grabbed a bottle of rum from behind the counter and poured it into two shot glasses.

"You'll need that more than me," she told Vivienne.

"Just because I can't use my magic out here, it doesn't mean I can't handle a pack of puppies."

"That's not why. He'll be here soon. Come on."

Taking Vivienne's hand, she led her into the back room. Moments later, the door swung open and a redheaded girl around fourteen, her hair in two braids, entered the bar. Vivienne nearly dropped her shot glass when she saw the boy who walked in behind her. He looked exactly like Ethan, down to the last detail, except that he dressed in a more rocker style, with a leather jacket and combat boots. Riley placed her hand over Vivienne's mouth to keep her quiet. Seeing the unconscious teenagers, the girl grabbed a gun from her coat pocket.

"I—is it him, Vince? Maybe he was angry that we wanted out. I told you that it was a bad idea."

"This isn't his usual style. If it was him, there would just be a pile of body parts."

"Always the clever one, little Collins."

Riley stepped out of the back room. "It's my fault. I just hate crowded places. They're not dead, if that makes you feel any better. Just knocked out…"

"Get the hell out of here," he snarled.

"So hostile. You know, I prefer your latest one. He's not as much of an annoying twit."

"Latest what?" asked the Katie, looking between her and Vince.

"Does she not know? I guess you do keep it a secret in case you piss off one of your puppies and they want to use it against you. You doppelgangers are just so useful but rare. I'm here to collect on a favor. I did save your life that day, Vince. If it weren't for me—"

"I wouldn't be stuck like this forever."

"True but you'd be dead."

"You're just like him. I know you set it up so I'd have to owe you that favor. Don't even bother asking me. The answer is no, you manipulative hag."

Riley's right eye twitched in anger. Vince was hardly the first doppelganger she met in his bloodline but she always despised him the most, mainly for his annoying personality. He never had the talent to back up his arrogance, even as a werewolf. When she knew that doppelganger blood was required to retrieve the emerald, her first thought was to find Vince instead of taking Ethan along on the trip. Through her many connections, she had learned that Vince was the leader of her pack and he had recently moved them to Hillford for a fresh start.

"I don't remember saying that I was going to ask you anything. I would've to be nice but I'm fine with brute force."

Katie pointed the gun at her face. "You're not taking my brother anywhere. I don't care if you think he's a doppelwhatzit. If you want him, you have to go through me. I'm not afraid of witches."

"Aren't you brave, sticking up for your brother? If only he shared that loyalty...we have that in common, Katie. Family who couldn't give a damn about us no matter how much we care about them."

"Get out of here or I'll summon Marcus here. He'd love to deal with you," threatened Vince.

"He's currently rotting in his own underground prison so he won't be much help. Did you not tell your little sister about your plan? An old acquaintance that we share told me all about it. My friend here seduced him back to my car and it didn't take very much for him to sing like a canary. How you were planning to give over your pack so that _he _could lift your little curse and not be stuck in your twenties anymore."

"T—that's not true. Vince wouldn't do that to the pack. He knows how much we hate working for—you're a liar. Both of you leave or I'll shoot."

Riley appeared in front of her. Grabbing her wrist, she pointed the gun right over her own heart.

"Go ahead."

"Y—you're crazy."

"Your brother would say that I probably invented the term. Prove that you're not all talk. Shoot me."

Her hand trembling, Katie lowered the gun. "See, Viv? This generation is such a disappointment. All talk, no action. Here's a lesson for you, Katie. If you're going to threaten someone, be prepared to follow through with it. I'll give you an example. I am going to snap your neck."

With a quick snap, she collapsed to the floor. Vince stepped towards her, angrily, but was repelled by an invisible shield. She grabbed him forcefully by the ear and transported herself, him, and Vivienne out of the bar. They landed inside a small cavern. Walking along the dimly lit passage, she cast a spell to prevent him from channeling his werewolf strength.

"Where are we?"

"A series of tunnels under the town. I need something here and you just happen to be the key to getting it. Maybe I'm just fortunate that you happen to be in the same place."

"You never rely on luck."

"You know me so well. I may have used some friends to make sure that you ended up here, little Collins."

"Stop calling me that," he hissed.

She stopped at the end of the passage, the wall covered in runic markings. In the center of the wall was a small hole. Vivienne examined the strange markings, her fingers tracing over one of the rows.

"To get in, I need a little doppelganger blood. You know how powerful that is, little Collins."

"You just need my blood?"

"That's all."

Reluctantly, he placed his arm through the hole. "Ow! What's happening? I can't move my arm."

Riley silently pulled Vivienne away from the wall. Two corpse-like hands shot out of the ground, grasping his legs in a vice-like grip. Blood trickled down his arm and all over his body, his veins blackened. He slumped against the wall.

"G—get me out."

"Isn't this what you wanted? You made that deal because you wanted to die. Deny it all you want but it's the truth. I'm giving you what you wanted without putting your little puppies in danger. I'm sure someone will step up in your place."

"J—just…please make the pain stop," he whispered, blood dribbling down his chin.

Riley collected the blood in a vial. "Would that make this easier?"

"Please."

"I would love to but I've been waiting for this moment since you rejected my offer that day. I'm going to enjoy every minute."

His arm was released from the hole and the hands vanished beneath the dirt. Riley stepped over his lifeless body. One by one, blood traveled along the wall, surrounding each of the runic markings. The wall emitted a faint green glow, when each marking was coated with blood, and slid to the side, revealing a wooden chest on the ground. Opening the chest, she picked up an oval-shaped emerald.

"What do we do now?" asked Vivienne.

"Now the real fun begins."

Riley had barely left her room since her return to Storybrooke. She continued to 'struggle' with learning her ancestors' language, pretending to only understand a little over a dozen words. Gold seemed to be growing impatient but he could hardly voice his frustrations since she was the only one capable of deciphering the language. Emma had stopped breathing down her neck as well, wanting to enjoy the brief moments of peace since they stopped Regina from casting her curse. Regina had, by no means, forgiven Mary Margaret for her role in Cora's death but the town was relieved that she was not actively plotting their demise. Very few people had seen Regina, who holed herself up in her office, except for those closest to her like Vivienne, Ethan, and his father.

Riley was sitting in her hidden closet, holding the jar of glittery black powder. All of the runic markings had vanished from the silver ring and the powder had grown three times in size. She added another ring, taken from Gold's shop, into the jar. The powder rose like a wave, engulfing the ring completely. Her phone vibrated on the floor.

"If you're going to ask me about Greg again, don't. I haven't found out anything yet."

"Do you like bagels?" asked Emma.

"What?"

In a single breath, Emma told her how Neal had invited his fiancee to Storybrooke and he wanted Emma and Henry to meet her. Adding to the bad news was that Hook had escaped the supply closet in his apartment building. Emma suggested that Riley needed to pretend to be her sister since Tamara, clueless about Neal's actual past, could not hear the same story as the rest of the people in Storybrooke.

"Why do I need to be in the middle of all that awkwardness?"

"It won't be awkward."

"Then you don't need me there."

"Fine. It might be a little awkward but just come and I'll tell David to stop thinking that you slaughter puppies in your spare time."

"Alright. I will pretend to be your prettier, younger sister who you are insanely jealous of for my many talents."

"Just being my younger sister is good enough. We're at the inn."

Riley cast a cloaking spell over the closet and walked down the staircase. Emma, Henry, and Neal were all sitting on separate couches.

"Riley, hey. Since you're here, why don't you join us for breakfast? You can meet Neal's fiancee," said Emma, hardly sounding convincing.

"Uh sure. I love some awkward tension in the morning."

"Heh, such a joker. You know, I never got to ask about your visit to your friend. What did you do?"

"I think that's a little R-rated for Henry's ears."

"Hilarious," she said, a fire in her eyes but a smile on her face.

"What does she m—"

"Nothing, kid."

Hearing a knock at the door, Neal stood up from the couch. "That must be Tamara. Riley, why are you pointing your phone at me?"

"Because when you tell her the truth, her reaction will be priceless and I want to capture every moment. Is she the type to throw stuff when she's angry?"

"Nothing bad is going to happen. She'll understand."

"That optimism will only make this video funnier."

He opened the door to the inn and hugged a dark-skinned woman in her late twenties. His arm around her waist, he introduced her to Riley, as Emma's sister, and Henry, already having met Emma back in New York. Tamara placed a bag of bagels and toppings on the coffee table.

"What the hell is she feeding, a village?" muttered Riley, earning a stifled laugh from Emma.

Riley had expected some awkward tension but it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop on the floor. Part of her hoped for at least one fight. Tamara mostly spoke to Henry, the only one unaware of the awkwardness between the three adults. Riley busied herself by looking at the calendar on her phone. There was a circle around the date in ten days.

"Are you in college, Riley?"

"No. I dropped out when I realized that when you're this pretty, there's no need to get an actual job. I figure that I can just snag some rich old guy."

Emma let out a fake laugh. "She's kidding. She's on a little break right now."

Henry changed the subject, asking Neal how he met Tamara. The awkward tension in the room grew worse, no one making eye contact. Tamara eventually spoke up, telling a cutesy story of Neal offering his scarf to her after he spilled coffee on her blouse.

"I have to drop Henry off with his grandpa and Riley's helping me out at the station. Thanks for the bagel."

"Ten bucks says he chickens out," whispered Riley as they left the inn.

"He won't. He knows that it's worse if she finds out the truth on her own."

"Because she won't freak out if it comes from him? You're both delusional. I'm not going with you to the station."

"I wouldn't mind the help."

"I have better things to do."

"Like what?"

"Anything is better than hanging out with you."

"And here I thought after what happened in New York, we were getting along and you might actually open up to me a little."

"I'd sooner tell my life story to Gold."

Riley lied that she was going to the woods to watch another training session but once Emma disappeared around the corner, she headed to the mines. She spent what seemed like hours in the hidden passage, staring at the mirror. Casting a spell over the map, she created six small dots in various locations. Three of the dots were in Storybrooke, two were in New Orleans, and one was on the other side of the map, on an island. Tapping the two dots, she changed the image in the mirror to a dingy bar. A man was pinned to the wall, his face stained with blood, cuts, and bruises. Multiple darts pierced his body, another one hitting his neck. Seth walked over to him, sipping a glass of whiskey.

"You look like you're in pain. If you want me to stop, tell me where I can find a doppelganger. I can hear your heartbeat so if you lie to me, I'll know."

"You also must know how rare they are…even in magical realms. Another may not pop up for centuries."

"I'm aware but the spell I did says that there have been a few born here and I need one for something very important."

"There were rumors of one in Pennsylvania, a small town called Hillford."

"I heard that rumor too and it was a dead end. There were some werewolves for awhile but werewolves can't be doppelgangers. Nothing magical exists in that town. Try again or the next one goes through your skull."

"What do you want me to say? I may be a seer but I can't make doppelgangers appear out of thin air. I know what you seek, you little monster. That jewel may give you power and the loyalty you desire but nothing else. Your curse merely reflects the monster already inside. You could make amends for the rest of your life but it will never undo the selfish act, the worst of all, that you committed thirteen years ago."

Riley was interrupted by a phone call from Greg. He wanted to meet her at _Granny's _to talk about their shared passion for nature photography. She returned the mirror to normal, erasing the image of Seth gouging out the man's eyes with a knife, his last words _You won't be seeing much anymore_ echoing throughout the mines. Conjuring a camera and several fake photos, she transported herself to the alley beside the diner. Greg was sitting in a booth by himself and as she walked over to him, he glanced up from his phone with a grin.

"Glad you decided to come."

"Well, I was a little surprised that you knew my name…or had my number. Are you stalking me?"

"Heh, no. I uh asked the woman who owns the inn. You're a little bit of mystery yourself. You didn't check in much earlier than I did."

"There was a problem with my apartment so I've been staying at inn until it gets fixed."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

While he ordered at the counter, Riley picked up his phone. She scrunched her nose at his pictures of food and nature. His texts were much more interesting, many of them sent to _Her_. Judging by the lovey dovey messages, she assumed that _Her, _possibly a weird nickname, referred to his girlfriend. The most recent message said how excited he was to see her again in Storybrooke. His last two emails easily caught her attention. Sending it to the same contact, both emails contained videos but not of the town's woods. One video showed Regina knocking Belle unconscious with a spell then making the belongings in her purse levitate in the air and the other video showed Regina ripping out Mary Margaret's heart outside her house. A text message, from _Her_, popped up on the screen: _You were right about this town. The Home Office will be pleased_. Casting a quick spell over the phone, she placed it back on the table. Greg returned with two slices of apple pie.

"I forgot how good these are," he said, taking a bite.

"Forgot? Have you been to Storybrooke before?"

"I uh had some last night in my room. These pies are that good."

"Yea, _Granny's_ is the best."

"Have you always lived here, Riley?"

"I was born here. It's a nice, quiet town. I can't imagine living anywhere else."

As he showed her some of the pictures from his hike, Emma entered the diner. She glanced over at their booth.

"Anything?" she mouthed.

Riley subtly shook her head. Pretending to be amazed by a picture, she noticed that he continuously checked his phone. He apologized, telling her that he was texting his boss from his computer job. On her lap, her phone displayed the same messages.

"He was worried about me after my car accident. I told him that I would be back in a couple weeks."

"A couple weeks, huh?"

"Maybe shorter. Depends on how quickly I recover. That accident really rattled me."

Another message popped up on her phone: _She's definitely one of them. The sensor on my watch went crazy when we met. I bet the office will want to meet her in person. I can easily get her alone and maybe we can run some tests. _

"Riley? You've got a little nosebleed."

She grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood under her nose. "Sorry. It must be the weather. Is that the time? I have to get to work. Thanks for the pie."

"I hope we can meet up again. Maybe somewhere more private like my room at the inn?"

"I'd like that. I'll see you later."

Leaving the diner, she opened her compact mirror. Spots of dried blood were caked under her nose but what was more pressing was that her eyes were flickering between their usual dark brown color and silver. She reached into her purse and pulled out a contact lens case. Putting in the contacts, she looked at herself in the mirror, her dark brown eyes staring back at her…

~Emma~

Emma, Mary Margaret, and Marco were walking through the woods. Earlier in the day, Mary Margaret had been in the woods for some private time, shooting arrows, when she found August in an abandoned trailer. After the curse broke over the town, he was nowhere to be found but he was just hiding out of shame, having turned completely wooden. Mary Margaret silently led them down the trail. She had not said a word since slapping Marco after his confession that he had sent August through the same enchanted tree as Emma. Emma understood her anger, since she was forced to grow up alone because of the lie, but was surprised by the slap.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked Mary Margaret.

"Yes, I'm…I didn't mean to do that."

"These past few weeks have been rough. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"What was Riley doing with Greg Mendell? He doesn't seem like her type."

"I may have asked her to spy on him."

"Emma," she whispered, shocked.

"I just—I thought something was off about him and she seemed like the best choice to find out what he's hiding. So far, she's got nothing."

"At least you two seem to be getting along better."

"Sort of. I thought New York would change things but she's still closed off."

"Sounds familiar."

As Marco opened the door to the abandoned trailer, they discovered that it was empty. They searched for any clues to his whereabouts. Emma opened up the closet in his bedroom, digging through the piles of clothes and boxes. One of the boxes contained a stack of folders and her eyes were drawn to a folder marked _Covens_. She opened the folder, finding pages of information about the different covens in this land and even a map with each of their locations. X's had been drawn over most of the covens and she wondered if he had traveled to them for help with his wooden problem before arriving in Storybrooke. She skimmed a drawn out family tree that traced back each coven's origins from their first ancestors, along with their family crests. The surname _Renato, _with a symbol of a snake eating its own tail drawn beside it, was first written in the 1600s and she traced the line down to the bottom.

Pierce Renato (1951 – 2001?) and Karina Renato née Gable (1952 – 1994)

Children: 

Marcus Renato 1971 – (New York)

Melanie Renato 1971 – 1978

Gabriel Renato 1973 – 1985

Lukas Renato 1982 – (Another realm?)

Sebastian Renato 1985 – (Last seen: Paris)

Seth Renato 1990 – (Last seen: Paris)

Marina Renato 1990 – 1997?

Emma stared at the name of the oldest child listed, Marcus. With August mentioning that he was in New York, she assumed that he was the same Marcus that led the coven, which meant that Riley was somehow related to him. She was confused why Riley's name was not written down on the tree. Attached to the family tree were several newspaper clippings. A few of them were articles about deaths in random places and he connected them to the second oldest child, Seth. To add to her confusion, some articles were dated all the way back to the `1700s in places like Europe and North America but not all of them were connected to Riley's bloodline, the names written by August all different in first and last name. The bottom sheet appeared to be added most recently, all about Riley and her mysterious background. Circling her name, he drew a line to a message at the bottom: _Back from the dead or never died at all? Why is she really in Storybrooke? Need to protect Emma and Ethan_.

"Emma? Did you find anything?" asked Mary Margaret.

"No. Let's check around the area. He couldn't have gotten far," she said, folding the papers and stuffing them in her coat pocket.

As she helped with the search for August, she could not shake the nagging feeling in the back of her head…


	6. A Peek into the Past

"What do you mean Belle's at _The_ _Rabbit Hole_?"

"It's her but she looks like she's dressed for a rock concert."

Riley was leaving the inn with Ethan to meet with their friends for drinks at _The Rabbit Hole_. If she had her way, she would be staying in her room, preparing the last few ingredients needed for her plan. Her privacy had not gone unnoticed, leading to endless questions from her friends and David, though his questions were far more accusatory. David seemed to be under the impression that she was practicing dark magic in her room at the inn and made impromptu visits to the inn to catch her in the act. When his attempts failed miserably, he settled for using her friends, mainly his little knights, to do his dirty work by constantly inviting her out with them. She expected Emma to join him in his suspicions but she had been oddly quiet for the past few days.

When seeing Riley in person, she did not pester her about all the time spent in her room, instead just giving her a quick wave or asking her where she was going with her friends. Vivienne suggested that several things contributed to Emma's strange behavior, including the arrival of Tamara and her old friend August, also known as Pinocchio, being reverted to his seven year old self after being attacked by a mysterious woman. Riley would not be surprised if Emma was focusing all of her attention on finding his attacker, wanting to keep the town safe from any threats, but there was something else causing her to even look at Riley differently. Any other time, Riley would have relished the opportunity to peek inside her head to tease her but she was too busy with her own concerns.

Ethan was listening to her phone call from Vivienne. Waiting for them at _The Rabbit Hole_, she had spotted Belle, no longer in a hospital gown, at the bar though there was something off about her. Besides the differences in attire and personality, she also adopted a new name: Lacey. Their friends learned about the name change when Celeste questioned her about leaving the hospital.

"Was Lacey her Storybrooke name?" Riley asked Ethan, curiously.

He shrugged. "No idea. I know she was stuck in the hospital during the curse until she somehow got out but I never even thought that she could have cursed memories. Do you think it's something like amnesia and now she's just left with her Storybrooke self?"

"Memory spells are tricky."

"I just hope Gold doesn't go on a rampage."

"He won't. He's with her at the bar," said Vivienne.

"Doing what?"

"Laughing…drinking beers…it's weird."

As they arrived at _The Rabbit Hole_, they immediately looked towards a table by the door where Gold and Belle were having drinks. Riley had not known Belle that well before the accident but it did not take a genius to notice the obvious changes. Her outfit, like Vivienne described, was more suited to someone like Riley herself and her mannerisms were very flirtatious.

"Hi Mr. Gold. I didn't expect to see you in a place like this," said Riley, walking over to them with Ethan.

"Lacey suggested that we grab a couple drinks. I don't believe you've been properly introduced. Lacey, this is Riley and her friend Ethan. She helps me out in the shop sometimes."

"It's uh nice to meet you, B—Lacey. Riley, I'll get us some drinks " said Ethan, struggling to not sound awkward.

Offering to buy Lacey another tequila, Gold joined him at the bar. Riley sat down at the table and flicked her wrist. Belle blinked a few times then flashed her a smile.

"Riley, where have you been? You know I hate going out without my partner in crime."

"Sorry. I had to wait for Ethan. So you and Gold, huh? What's going on with you two?"

"I let him take me to _Granny's _because I felt a little bad. He kept thinking that I was this Belle girl and I got bored so I left but then he showed me this more interesting side to him and I decided to give him a chance. I know he's not my usual type but I'm all for new experiences. Don't judge."

"Oh, I won't. I'm actually glad that you're getting to know him. I need a little favor. I was a little behind on the rent this month and he took something from me as collateral. It's really important to me. I was hoping that maybe you could get it back."

"Of course. What is it?"

"A ring. I know he keeps all of that stuff in his bedroom, probably in a box," she said, showing a picture of the ring on her phone.

"Should be easy enough. This music is awful. I'm going to put some Van Halen on. Don't start drinking without me."

Taking the shot glass with her, Belle searched for a better song on the jukebox. Gold and Ethan returned with their drinks. Riley was suspicious when Gold quietly told her not to worry about learning her ancestors' language. He seemed unconcerned with bringing back Belle's true memories and though Ethan and her other friends were confused by his acceptance of her new personality, Riley soon understood his reasons. Belle, with her cursed memories, was accepting of his darker impulses and made no attempts to help him be a better man. Playing dumb, she agreed to take her time with translating the memory spell.

"I'm not the only one weirded out, right?" asked Alec, watching Belle and Gold leave the bar around ten o'clock.

"It's still Belle. She's just…a little different," said Celeste.

"A little? It's like a complete personality switch. Something isn't right. When Sneezy went over the line, he didn't have any amnesia. He just reverted back to being his Storybrooke self right away. What if something else made Belle…into that?"

"Like what?"

"Magic. Maybe Gold messed up trying to reverse her memories or Regina—"

"Can we not go down that road, please? Regina's been keeping her distance. She'll hardly let my father into her house to devise some scheme so I don't think she'd go after Belle," said Ethan.

"Always the one to defend her," he muttered, sipping his beer.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"No, I think it does."

"Guys, don't start," said Vivienne, rolling her eyes.

Riley was distracted by her phone vibrating on her lap. There was a text message from Gale, displaying only three words: _Problem. Call me_. Pretending to be answering a call from Emma, she left the bar…

~Killian~

Several emotions swirled inside his stomach all at once, at the sight of the Dark One alive in Storybrooke. He was, of course, furious that he had not succumbed to the poison. Though he was aware of Riley's intent to cure him for her own purposes, a small part of him hoped that her magic would not save him from his grim fate. At the same time, he felt regret for not avenging Milah's death all those years ago, her life taken by the man she once called husband. The anger had been bubbling inside him since being left behind in that closet in New York and as soon as he managed to break free of his shackles, he planned to set sight on his new vengeance against that infuriating dark-haired vixen. What he did not expect was to be abducted again, this time by a woman and the man who hit him with his metal carriage.

The pair revealed to him that the Dark One remained among the living and was reunited with his dear Belle. In exchange for finding the whereabouts of his father, they would aid him in succeeding with his vengeance. His desperation outweighed his hesitation and he agreed to their assistance.

Leaving the clock tower, he listened to their plan while silently surveying his new partners. Tamara appeared to be the more cunning of the two, having purposely inserted herself into Baelfire's life and going so far as to become his fiancee. On the other hand, Greg was likely the more dangerous, with his obsession with finding his father and the lengths he would go to get the truth from Regina.

"Just gain her trust. It's important that you get her alone," explained Tamara.

"That should be quite easy."

Killian turned his head at the sound of a loud _crash_. Such a noise could be passed off as a few drunken fools stumbling around but a crack forming in the middle of the street was a strange sight. In the alley beside the bar, Riley was pacing back and forth, her phone pressed against her ear.

"How is that possible? She should've gone straight to—you're sure it was him? No, I'm not surprised. I know what he's doing. I don't need you there. Gale, don't be an idiot. If you come with me, it'll only look more suspicious. I can handle your uncle on my own…just act like everything's normal. Does he still run that shithole? It's not that far from here. Thanks for telling me."

Flicking her wrist, she conjured a duplicate of herself. Riley instructed the duplicate to return to the pub and occupy her friends. As it walked through the front door, her own metal carriage appeared beside her on the street.

"She's planning on leaving? I thought you couldn't leave Storybrooke without losing your memories?" said Tamara, confused.

"Those who were not part of the curse are immune to that side effect."

She looked at Killian. "She hasn't been here the entire time?"

"Arrived shortly after myself."

"We should follow her," said Greg.

"I'd advise against that, mate. If she catches you, you may end up dead."

"Get in the car or the deal's off, pirate."

Killian had not yet grown accustomed to these carriages. He shifted uncomfortably in the backseat and was thankful for the short trip, only a few hours. The trip provided him with several more reservations about working with these two outsiders, particularly when Greg was speaking of studying Riley like some an animal to better understand her magical abilities. She had stopped outside a disheveled building in Boston, Massachusetts. The building looked far from inhabitable, the roof partially crumbled and wooden boards covering the windows. They waited at least ten minutes before following her through the front door. At first glance, the building appeared to be empty but Tamara spotted a hidden staircase under a pile of rubble. Descending down the staircase, they discovered a trail of unconscious bodies, all leading to a single black door. A sign hung above the word, with _Welcome to the Underworld _written in red letters that dripped like blood. Instead of stepping inside, Greg slid a small circular device under the door.

"It's something from the home office. It'll allow us to see inside. We'll have audio and visual without anyone knowing that we're close by," he told Tamara.

"Good."

He tapped his phone twice, revealing an image of a pub similar to the one in Storybrooke but with a darker décor, including black walls, skulls hanging from the ceiling, and a throne made of bones at the far end of the room. Killian searched the room for any sign of Riley but another woman caught his eye, one who stood out among the patrons. Her cat-like blue eyes were quite striking but her attire was what drew attention. Unlike the other people in the pub, she was dressed as though she hailed from a land like the Enchanted Forest with her floor-length elegant black dress , the bodice embroidered with golden roses. The woman was also not very modest, her long brown hair hardly hiding the long slit down the front of her dress that stopped just above her bellybutton. He heard one of the men address her as Seffie, assuming it to be some sort of moniker. She applauded with the others when a girl in her twenties finished singing on a small stage.

As Riley jumped onto the stage, her smile faltered. "Wow. That was just—girl, seriously, you need to get to Hollywood. I mean, some might think it's cheating because you're a siren but hey, everyone there has some kind of help."

The woman disappeared from her spot by the bar, reappearing on the stage. "What are you doing?" she hissed, her eyes flashing golden.

Killian recalled how her friend in New York, supposedly a god, experienced the same change in eye color. It was far too alike to be mere coincidence.

"I just wanted to say a few words. How should I start? Oh, I've got it. Everyone, get the hell out before I rip out your spines and gouge out your eyes with a spoon. Was that not threatening enough? How about this? I will give you until the count of five to get out. If you don't, I will cut you up piece by piece, nerve by nerve, and just when you're about to die, I'll fix you up and go through the same thing again and again. Fair warning, my number system tends to leave out a few numbers. Does five come after one? Yea, I think so. One…"

To his surprise, the patrons had vanished in clouds of smoke. He wondered if they were all descendants of the covens hidden in this land or had arrived by another method of travel. The woman and a few burly men remained in the pub.

"Get out before I add you to my collection," said the woman, indicating the potted plants on each table.

"You know, Seffie, I prefer you the other six months of the year," replied Riley, sitting on the throne.

"You have the audacity to trespass and—"

"Darling, no need to be rude."

A very tall man, with slicked back golden blonde hair and pale blue eyes, walked into the pub through a side door. Like the woman, his attire seemed out of place in this land, a combination of its style and the typical attire in the Enchanted Forest. In a way, he was reminiscent of a king.

He pulled out a chair at a nearby table. "Wonderful to see you again, old friend, but I doubt you're here for some drinks at my club. Come, sit."

"I've already got a seat, _friend_."

"That is not yours," said the woman, gritting her teeth.

"Well, it is my money that paid for this place so in a way, it is…and I think it's a good reminder to the both of you."

"Of what, exactly?"

"Your place. I hear that a little mangy puppy has been staying with you. I can see the appeal for her. She always liked dirty, vile things. Just give me the mutt and I'll leave."

The man chuckled. "Quite a funny story about this _mutt_, as you call her. One of my men happened to find her on her way to a very dangerous mutual friend of ours. It appeared that she was compelled to tell him of her treachery. I took pity on her. What's your interest in the girl?"

"We have rules for a reason. She's my little mutt so hand her back and we won't have a problem. Do you honestly want to start a war over this?"

"War? She must be important if you care this much about getting her back. Is it because of her relationship to someone close to you? Perhaps she knows some secrets? The other day, she was telling me a fascinating story about a cemetery in New Orleans and something very dangerous locked up in one of its mausoleums. The locals call it _le fantôme hurlant_, the screaming ghost. Rumor has it that its screams can be heard all through the night. We both know what nasty things have traveled to this land. I'm very curious to find out just what is in that mausoleum."

"I've been there. It's just some annoying cat. Sorry to disappoint you. This is about respect, H. Hand her over."

"Persephone, darling, would you retrieve our guest?"

Throwing Riley a contemptuous look, she left through the side door. There was a quiet tension in the pub and though neither Riley nor the man said a word, their intense stares spoke for them. Minutes later, the woman returned with Elena, the little werewolf that Riley had been torturing in her room. Keeping her eyes on the floor, she walked over to the man. He gripped her shoulder lightly.

"No need to be frightened, little wolf. My friend here won't hurt you. Lift your head."

Elena glanced up at him. "Y—yes, sir."

"I know how much you enjoy staying here but I'm afraid that she feels…disrespected and she wishes to take you back with her. Would you like to say anything, Elena?"

"I never meant to disrespect you, Riley. I promise that whatever Seth told me will stay with me. I would never want to betray him or you," said Elena in an apologetic tone though her eyes flickered with mischief.

The man shrugged. "An apology sounds good enough, yes?"

Riley tapped her fingers on the throne. Her eyes had not left Elena since she entered the pub, a quiet resentment brewing behind her passive expression.

She giggled to herself. "You think I don't know what you're doing? This little coup of yours won't work."

"You're becoming as paranoid as him, dear."

"Enough with the pretenses. I'm not as easily fooled and I'd kill you right here but dealing with your brother is the last thing I want. Those lightning strikes are never enjoyable. Besides, I'll relish the opportunity to put you in your place and remind you who's on top."

"I highly doubt you'll get that chance. How many days do you have left this time? Eight? That day rarely ends well for you, especially now that you have to deal with that pesky merge. I can see it's beginning to affect you. Such a shame that you're hiding your eyes. I prefer them that way. They show your true nature."

"Oh, I'd worry about yourself. This is your last warning. Stand down. You've made this mistake before and it's the reason that you're currently calling this shithole your home. If you don't want to listen to me, that's your mistake. People have tried countless times to take me down but I always win. I am always ten steps ahead of everyone else."

"You two fight so much yet you're two sides of the same coin. You think you're invulnerable? Everyone has a weakness and I think yours is locked away in that cemetery. Do not underestimate me either."

Riley stepped down from the throne and stood in front of Elena. She grabbed her face roughly, digging her nails into her pale cheeks.

"And you…you little desperate, pathetic, mangy mutt. When I'm done with him…what I'm going to do to you? You'll wish that he never reversed the compulsion. Oh and I'm not sure if you heard the news. Your brother's dead. It was all so sudden. He was just inexplicably drained of all his blood and left for dead in the woods. So tragic. Seffie? I'd be sure that your little personality switch doesn't happen too soon. I'd prefer to deal with you as a cold ass bitch. You'll put up more of a fight."

Out of the corner of his eye, Killian noticed Tamara on her phone, writing a short message. He could only read the end of the message clearly: _Go to New Orleans_. Riley vanished from the pub in a cloud of silver smoke…

~Riley~

Riley's temper was hanging by the tiniest thread. One more incident could easily send her over the edge and into one of her dangerous tantrums. Many people learned the hard way that angering her was like a death wish. She had enough to deal with in her life besides pathetic gods attempting to regain their power. It was not just the dreariness of living among mortals that was causing their unrest but even though she had no interest in finding out what led to such a sudden change, she was aware that the fighting could have terrible consequences.

She left her bathroom, a small towel draped around her body. As she opened the top drawer of her dresser, she spotted a sword on the bed.

"Pick it up," she heard.

She leaned her head against the dresser. "Either I'm really hungover and hallucinating or you're honestly this stupid."

The mirror on the wall showed Hook sitting in the armchair, his own sword in his hand. She was not the least bit surprised that he managed to find his way back from New York. When she abandoned him, she expected that the chains would not hold him for very long, due to his pirate nature.

"I see you made it back here. Did you get Gale to cast a spell on you so that you wouldn't scare people off with the pirate get up?"

"I'm quite resourceful, love. Pick up the sword. I warned you not to betray me and yet you did…and now you'll pay the price. I could have simply stabbed you in the back by now but unlike you, I'll settle for a fair fight."

"So what, you fail at killing the Dark One and now you're trying to kill me? You've got it backwards. That's like trying to fight a dog and then deciding to fight a bear."

"Pick up the sword."

"I'm not in the mood for your man pain right now. I have places to be, Hob—oh, you look better. You need a new nickname. How about Captain Delusional?"

"Pick up the sword, Renato. I heard that you had lessons with the little knights. Surely you learned a few things."

Snapping her fingers, she changed out of the towel and into a different outfit. She grabbed the sword from the bed and sent the two of them out of her room. They landed in the clearing where the knights held their training sessions. Conjuring a jar, she placed her hand inside and whispered under her breath. Silver dust emitted from her finger, filling the jar to the very top.

"You wanted a fair fight, right? I know you'd say that it's not fair if I have my magic so I'll keep it in here for now."

"If you beg for mercy, I may reconsider."

"Nope. Let's do this."

"I have centuries of experience over you and you no longer have your magic to protect you."

"You know, for someone who wanted to get vengeance for me trapping him in a little closet, you're coming up with a lot of excuses."

"I have no intention of letting you leave here alive, Renato."

"Good luck with that."

While the boys usually went easy on her during their pretend fights, Hook was not as generous, showing little mercy. The fight was even more dangerous with them using actual swords instead of ones made of wood and it would just take the tiniest nick for either of them to suffer a fatal injury. She rammed her shoulder into his chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Apologies. Was that bad form?" she asked, imitating his accent.

Hook snarled, attacking her once more aggressively. Riley dodged each of his attacks and disarmed him with a quick twirl of her wrist. Instead of retrieving his sword, he settled for using his hook as a weapon, swiping at her. She was soon disarmed herself, though she was unsure how, and thinking on her feet, she threw dirt in his face. He tackled her roughly, causing both of them to roll down the nearby hill. She ended up on top of him, both breathing heavily with their faces just inches apart. Before he could raise his hook, she slid a knife out from her sleeve and used it to pin his sleeve to the ground.

"Looks like you're pinned, pirate."

"Or you simply fell for my ploy," she heard him say, his lips not moving.

Like her daydream, his face took on a more youthful appearance. There was something different about herself this time, the sleeves of her leather jacket replaced with the thin fabric of a dress.

"And what ploy is that, lieutenant?"

"To get you this close to allow me to do this."

Her eyes widened as he leaned closer and she quickly turned her head, letting his lips brush against her cheek. She waited for him to react angrily or even strike her across the face. To her confusion, he grinned.

"You aren't angry?"

"Why would I be angry with you?"

"I turned my head. Most men would—"

"I am not those men. They should consider themselves lucky for simply being in your presence. I cherish all of it. Making you smile…a kiss on the cheek…"

Riley snapped out of the daydream, finding herself still on top of Hook. He was staring at her with a similar expression of shock and confusion. Not saying a word, she transported herself back to her room. Vivienne was sitting on her bed, sifting through a small wooden chest. She snatched the wooden whistle from her and placed it back in the chest, throwing the chest in the hidden closet.

"Why were you touching that?"

"I was just looking at some old memories. I got the ring from Belle…well, Lacey but you know who I mean. You've got seven of them now. I didn't want to add it without you being here," she replied, handing her a silver ring with markings etched along the sides.

"It happened again."

"What?"

"The daydream. I was in the woods, fighting Hook. Before you freak out, I was just indulging him and his little revenge fantasy. It was nothing but it happened again. I had him pinned and then…he looked younger and I looked different this time too. We were just talking but it felt so real. When I snapped out of it, he had this look…it's like he saw the same thing. I've got my old spellbook back. Maybe I can use it to find out what's going on."

"Or we should just tell Gold so he can kill the stupid pirate. It shouldn't take much convincing. Just remind him that Hook shot Belle and almost killed him with that poison."

"I don't want Hook dead."

"Why not? You said he didn't matter to you," she said, sounding tense.

"That doesn't mean I want him dead. Most of the people in this town mean nothing to me but you don't see me wanting to wave their heads on a stick. What are you not telling me?"

"I—I don't know what you mean."

"Whenever I bring up these weird hallucinations or whatever they are, you get all nervous and tense. It's like you're hiding something. You work closely with Regina. Is she doing this?"

"Of course not. You really think—pfft, Regina has no reason to put weird dreams in your head."

"Then what do you know? Don't tell me nothing because I know that's a lie and don't think you can distract me by making those puppy dog eyes. If you don't want to be honest, fine…leave me alone."

"But I—please don't be mad at me. I swear that I don't…M—"

"I said leave me alone! Unless you want to be the first test subject for my little experiment…"

Near tears, Vivienne transfigured into a raven and flew out of the room. Riley stopped herself from going after her and opened the door to the hidden closet. The glittery black powder was pressing against the sides of the jar, creating tiny cracks in the glass. She dropped the ring into the jar and placed it on the floor. The jar began to shake violently, the powder swirling around like a miniature tornado. Remembering that she had her magic tucked away in another jar, she hid herself behind the bed and watched the jar shatter to pieces. She covered her ears to muffle the sounds of the explosion and returned her magic to her body. Peeking over the side of the bed, she saw a gigantic shadow creature in the shape of a wolf, nearly ten feet tall, by the closet. Its eyes glowed bright silver. Hearing a loud knock on the door, she flicked her wrist. Ruby was on the other side of the door, looking concerned.

"Riley, are you okay?"

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?"

"I heard an explosion and it sounded like it came from your room. Some of the neighbors were worried about it."

"I was just watching a movie on my laptop and I guess the volume was a little too loud. I'll turn it down."

She kept the door open with her foot. "You remember that David said no magic in the room, right?"

"I haven't been doing magic unless I'm with Mr. Gold for my lessons."

"Everything alright?"

Emma was walking down the hallway. Riley rolled her eyes as Ruby told her about the supposed explosion in the room. To prove that she was innocent, she let them inside the room for Ruby to use her werewolf senses to sniff out any signs of magic.

"Is your puppy nose picking anything up?"

Ruby glared slightly. "I'm a werewolf, not a dog."

"Don't see the difference. If the K-9 unit is done searching my room, I'd like some privacy."

"False alarm, Ruby. You can go ahead. Don't be late for your shift."

She jumped as a black cat jumped down from the dresser. "Where did that come from?"

"I found him last night. Are you judging my choice of pet now?"

"No one's judging—I wanted to talk to you about something. It's kind of important since it's my job to protect you. What would you think of a move?"

"To another town? Are you ditching your parents?"

"No. It's uh—maybe you should sit."

Emma explained that ever since Mary Margaret and David saved the giant, they had been conducting secret business in the fields. The giant was growing magic beans with the dwarves and their plan was to use the beans to return to the Enchanted Forest. Her odd behavior finally made sense since she was clearly struggling with the idea of living in an entirely different land.

"No."

"I didn't ask—"

"You want me to go there too. The answer is no. I'm not leaving here. I'll go to any other town but I am not living in the Enchanted Forest."

"Riley, relax. I never said that we—"

"There is no we. If you want to go, then go."

"Kind of can't because then it breaks that contract and I die. You need to stay with me, remember? I haven't made a definite decision yet. I just wanted to tell you about it. Why are you so against going back there? You were there before…and wouldn't it be easier?"

"Get out."

"Riley—"

"I am never going back there. I am staying here and like I said, if you want to go, then go. Your days were numbered anyway as soon as you got the job. I won't care if you're gone. Go off and live with your big happy family in your fancy castle. I don't need you, Emma. You're the worst guardian I've ever had and you don't deserve to be the savior. You can't do anything right. You're worthless and pathetic. I'll be glad when you're gone because then maybe I'll get someone who isn't completely useless."

Emma scoffed. "You know, I've tried really hard to get along with you, Riley, but it's impossible. I thought we'd connect because we have things in common. I was wrong. You clearly don't want my help so I'll just say that I'm your protector. I won't do the actual job. You can obviously protect yourself so what do you need me for, right? From now on, you can look out for yourself. Go blow up New York City…take over every single coven and become a dictatorship…I don't care. You're not my problem anymore."

She slammed the door behind her, muttering to herself. Riley flicked her wrist, changing the cat back to its original form.

"We have much to do but first, I need you to guard a little spot in New Orleans. No one gets in that mausoleum except me. Is that understood?"

The shadow inclined its head and began to alter its shape, turning into a hawk. It flew out the window, disappearing into the cloudy sky. Riley was barely hanging onto her sanity, between this magic bean nonsense and Vivienne lying to her. She kept an eye on the shadow through her mirror, watching it guard the mausoleum in the guise of a statue. The image in the mirror became distorted, shifting into a person. She hid herself behind the closet door.

"Riley? I know you're in there. I can feel your presence in the room. Please come out of hiding. I'm not Seth under some disguise. It's me. You don't need to be afraid. I've only come to ask you to meet with me. There are only seven days left and we must do all that we can to fight it. You know better than anyone how much I want us all to come out of it alive but that cannot happen if we are divided. I beg of you to let the protector bring you out of Storybrooke. We can meet wherever you wish…and I swear that Seth will not be there, unless you wish for him to join us. The choice is up to you."

Hearing another knock on the door, she stepped away from the closet. The mirror returned to normal, showing the other side of the room. Wiping away a single tear from her cheek, she opened the door. Greg was standing outside, his hands in his coat pockets.

"Hey. I was beginning to think you weren't here. How are—you okay? You look like you were crying."

"I was uh watching a sad movie. Did you want something?"

"I promised to cook for you one day, remember? Why not today? Unless this is a bad time…"

"No, that sounds great."

"Great. I uh already used the kitchen downstairs. I thought we could eat in my room."

Riley followed him over to his room. He had cooked an extensive meal and even bought an apple pie for dessert. As they talked, her mind was drifting back to what she heard from her mirror. She jumped when Greg snapped his fingers.

"You're a little out of it today."

"Sorry. I uh—I've got a lot on my mind."

"Well, you can always talk to me."

"It's complicated and probably better if you don't get roped into it," she said, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"Then let's talk about something else."

Her vision suddenly blurred and she felt very lightheaded. The last thing she remembered was Greg getting up from the table.

Riley's eyes popped open and she found herself strapped to a cold metal table. Her wrists and ankles were tied down with multiple restraints. She attempted to remove them with a spell but nothing worked, not even turning the restraints into rope. A black cuff was secured around her left wrist. She glanced around the room, smelling a fishy odor. Beside her was some kind of machine.

"I see you're finally awake, Riley. How are you feeling?"

Tamara walked into the room, Hook a few steps behind her. He seemed surprised to see Riley on the table.

"Hello Riley. I'm glad that you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" she asked, placing electrodes on both sides of her head.

"Like I was hit by a truck. You know, I had a feeling that you were into me but I don't usually get this kinky until at least the second date."

She was not amused by her joke. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're really here."

"As am I. This wasn't part of our deal," said Hook.

"Our deal still stands. This is other business. I have some questions for you, Riley. Why don't you tell me about these covens? I know you're descended from one of them. Where are they?"

"Bite me," replied Riley.

"Let me explain how this works. That cuff on your wrist restricts your magic. If you don't cooperate, I have to give you a little shock…but you can avoid any pain if you're simply honest with me."

"So how long have you been playing Neal? I'm curious. Did your home office ask you to hook up with him as some convoluted way of finding Storybrooke? Do you actually like him or are you just that good of an actress? Maybe he's just that gullible because to be honest, you and your buddy Greg have shady written all over you. I get the appeal with Neal but Greg? He's such a nerd. How do you not fall asleep when he's talking about pictures of some stupid bird?"

"Tell me about the covens."

"Not much to tell."

Tamara switched on the machine and pressed a red button. Seconds later, an electrical current flowed through her body. Hook took one step towards the table before stepping back and standing by the doorway. Riley tensed up then burst into a fit of laughter.

"Are you sure this isn't a date? You need to do a lot better than that. Considering what I grew up with, that's hardly torture. I don't need magic to know that you don't care about the covens. What's your boss really interested in?"

"Your little secret in New Orleans. See, the three of us followed you to that club in New Orleans. We heard that entire conversation. What could be so fearsome that even someone as powerful as a god would want it?"

"Are you going to tell Neal the real reason why you're leaving or will you just use a work excuse?"

"I have no intention of leaving yet."

She pouted. "But don't you want to go to the funeral for your friends? The ones you sent to New Orleans to find out what's supposedly there? People like you are so predictable. You don't even know that you sent them to their deaths. Do you honestly think a bunch of idiots could break in there? By now, I expect that pieces of them are being discovered around the city."

"If it's that well-guarded, you must not want it getting out either. Hook, why don't you keep her company for awhile? I'll be back."

As Tamara left the room, Hook began to loosen the restraints. Riley stayed on the table, staring up at the ceiling. He insisted that she needed to leave before Tamara returned with another method of torture. There was little chance of Riley escaping unless she answered all of their questions and even then, there was a likely possibility that they would kill her.

"You know you're enjoying this. You wanted me to suffer, right?"

"Contrary to what you believe, I do not want you dead."

"And yet just this morning, you wanted to drive a sword through my stomach."

"Oh, I still have that desire and I am fighting it with every ounce of restraint in my body. What changed?"

"I told you that the Dark One was more useful alive."

"Not that. It could take centuries before I understand your motivation for keeping the crocodile alive. What I do not understand is why that meant I needed to be left behind in that closet. Surely you could have cast some spell to prevent me from harming him again. Why did you leave me in New York?"

"Are you ever going to let that go? I didn't want to leave you there but I did. Let me guess. You're going to say that you wouldn't do the same. Then that makes you a better person than me."

Hook stopped loosening the restraint around her wrist, a softened expression in his eyes. Tamara returned to the room, telling him that she wanted to interrogate Riley alone. He left the room, glancing back at Riley for a brief second.

"Shall we try this again, Riley?"

"I already told you that a little shock isn't going to make me talk."

"You're tough, I'll give you that, but I know some things about you. Things that no one else in this town does…"

"Oh, do tell."

"You're twenty, aren't you? The home office does know a few things about those covens. Some of their traditions sound scary. I learned about that one…that uh merging ritual? That's all you magical people care about, isn't it? Being so powerful? Correct me if I'm wrong but it happens between twins when they're seven."

"That's right. The covens have always hated twins because together, they're incredibly powerful. When they're seven, they're forced to fight each other until one is the winner. The other one dies and their magic gets absorbed by the victorious twin. Why do you care about that? Does your office want you to slaughter every set of magical twins?"

Tamara chuckled. "No, but there's more to the ritual, isn't there? According to my bosses, some families don't just force the twins into the ritual…it's all the siblings and if it's not done by the time the youngest is twenty one, it's bad."

"Why are we talking about this? I have no family. It's just me."

"See, I would believe that but I've noticed a few things like the nosebleeds. I've studied enough to know that it's a sign of your magic losing control. Are wearing contacts to hide your eyes changing color another sign? I'm guessing it's because you're almost twenty one and your merge still hasn't been completed. What happens if you don't?"

"Like you said, it's bad. I'd explain it but it's much too complicated. Are we done with the questions?"

"Of course not. We're just getting started," she said, turning towards the machine.

Riley managed to move her wrist under the restraint. One of the windows opened halfway and the lamp above her flickered repeatedly. She lowered her wrist as Tamara looked at her and braced herself for the interrogation…

~Killian~

Killian was having an internal battle of conscience within himself. After Greg and Tamara activated a trigger that could cause the destruction of Storybrooke, he realized that he was not willing to die for his revenge. In the past, he would have gladly accepted such a fate but something changed his mind, perhaps just that he wanted to keep his life. He sought out Swan and her parents to warn them about the impending danger and offered to help them stop the trigger. They were all hesitant to trust him, for admittedly good reasons, but were in no state to refuse any assistance in saving their little town. The prince devised a plan to use the magic beans, stolen by Tamara from Regina's office, to create a portal and bring the entire town back to the Enchanted Forest.

Swan was attempting to call Riley on her phone. Though she passed it off as wanting to protect everyone in Storybrooke, there was a hint of concern in her tone, suggesting that she honestly cared about her well-being. He struggled with telling them the truth of her whereabouts, conflicted between letting her go through a bit of pain or rescuing her from a possibly grim fate. Deep down, he knew that he did not want her dead, no matter how she infuriated him, and even their sword fight in the woods was merely a way for him to vent his anger. When he challenged her, he expected to knock her down quickly and get her to beg for mercy but she, surprisingly, held her own in the fight, using tricks that seemed familiar yet impossible for her to know unless she traveled back in time.

"She's still not answering."

"Sounds typical to me," said David.

"No, she'd at least answer with some sarcastic remark."

"Maybe she found out about the trigger and left town. I wouldn't put it past her to save herself."

"She hasn't left town," muttered Killian.

Swan looked at him. "How would you know?"

He sighed. "Because she was a hostage, along with her majesty. She was being held in a different part of the building."

"What? Why? What did Greg and Tamara want with her?"

"She was asking her questions about the covens. I suppose whoever they worked for intends for them to be the next targets."

"I've been calling her for ten minutes and now you say something? We're going to her apartment. Maybe there's some magical thing we can use to find them…or even to help us stop the trigger."

"I already told you that it can't be stopped," said Regina.

"As far as you know. It's worth a try. Besides, maybe Riley managed to escape and she'll go back there."

Swan led them to her room at the inn. He was torn between wanting to find Riley in her room, unharmed, and wanting her to remain a hostage. Vivienne, Ethan, and Alec were standing outside her door and judging by Vivienne's harsh glare, they were in some sort of argument.

"Shut up, Alec," she said, pounding on the door.

He crossed his arms. "I'm just saying that it looks a little desperate. What's next, laying naked on the bed?"

"I said shut up!"

"Guys, stop. This isn't the time to fight," insisted Ethan.

"What are you three doing?" asked Swan, curiously.

"Viv is trying a little too hard and Ethan and I were just offering her some advice. We were looking for Riley because we weren't sure if she knew about the impending destruction brought on by a deranged royal."

Regina snarled and stepped towards him but was kept back by Snow, who held one arm in front of her. Swan walked into the room, followed by the others. Vivienne blocked his path, a very cold gleam in her eyes.

"You're not allowed in here."

"I did not realize that you had that authority, love."

"Riley wouldn't want a stupid pirate in her room."

"Is that so? I've been in here quite a few times before so I suppose she has no objections. Kindly get out of my way."

"I'm only going to say this once. Stay the hell away from her or you'll deal with me. I might not look like much but I promise you that I'll have you wishing that the Dark One killed you the day he took your hand."

He was confused by her obvious threat, sensing that it was more than just her helping a friend. Turning around, she smacked him in the face with her long, dark hair. He followed her into the room, which was completely empty. Swan searched through the closet for any magical items or potions.

Regina was staring at the wall. "There's something here."

"It's a wall," said Ethan.

As Regina flicked her wrist, another door appeared on the wall. Inside was a room filled with magical objects and spellbooks. It seemed that Riley had cast a cloaking spell over the door. Vivienne warned them against touching anything in the closet, claiming that the objects could contain dangerous magic. Her odd behavior did not go unnoticed by Killian, who was now suspicious that she had previous knowledge of this hidden closet. Ethan picked up one of the spellbooks, the writing was merely crudely drawn symbols.

"How do you even read these?"

"Riley can do it. It's another language. Mr. Gold gave her the book for her lessons," said Henry.

David glanced at the spellbook. "You saw her reading this, Henry?"

"Yea, at the diner. She said that she could teach me to read it too."

"Gold said that he gave her that book to figure out how to get Belle's memory back. He had called her before we went to _The Rabbit Hole_ to find Lacey and she said that she could barely translate more than three words," he told Swan.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would she lie?"

"Because she was up to something."

"Maybe she could only read some of the spells. It doesn't mean she was lying," suggested Ethan.

"Ethan, she clearly lied about not knowing this language."

"Riley never even met Belle. She has no reason to keep her stuck with her cursed memories. If she could translate the memory spell, she would've told Gold."

"Unless she had something to gain from it. I know you've gotten close but the fact is—what's going on?"

All of them were bathed in a golden glow. Henry had opened another book, this one much smaller with blank pages. Before Vivienne could grab the book, their surroundings began to change, the confined space of the closet disappearing before their eyes and replaced with a forest.

"What happened? Where are we?" asked Snow.

"Henry opened a memory journal. It's an object used to store memories. It's not common for someone young to use one…usually it's for someone who has lived a very long life and finds their mind cluttered. When he opened the journal, we were sucked into one of the memories," said Regina.

"Riley's memories? How do we get out?"

"It happens randomly unless another spell sucks you out first," explained Vivienne.

Two black blurs rushed past them, followed by a loud giggle. Killian watched a boy and girl, possibly no older than six, running through the woods. He was sure that the girl was a younger Riley since the journal was an account of her own memories. The boy looked very similar to her though his eyes were emerald green.

"You can't catch us," teased the boy.

"You may have gotten faster but you're not fast enough," shouted a voice in the distance.

Together, they climbed up a nearby tree, hiding among the highest branches. Another boy, not much older than them, and dressed much more sophisticated,in dark trousers and a buttoned down shirt, appeared by the tree and circled it several times. As he pressed his hand against the trunk, the tree shook slightly and both Riley and the young boy fell from their hiding spot. Riley frantically waved her hands like a bird flapping its wings. Instead of crashing into the ground, they landed softly on their feet though the boy lost his balance and fell onto his knees.

"No fair. You used magic. That's cheating."

"Then perhaps next time, you need a better hiding place."

"One more time. You won't find us again," said the boy.

"Seth, we don't have time for—"

"Please, Bash?" they chorused.

"You have lessons."

"We hate them. He's always mean to Seth and it's just an excuse for him to…he's not nice," said Riley, snapping her familiar leather bracelet against her wrist.

"Hey, you're safe as long as I'm here. You know I wouldn't let him hurt you."

"Just one more game?"

He grinned. "One more but if I find you in less than five minutes, you have to do the dishes. I'll give you a ten second head start. Ready? One—"

The boy was knocked violently into the ground by an invisible force. Killian's eyes widened as another boy, in his early twenties, appeared by the tree. Swan shared his shocked expression, instantly recognizing the boy as a younger Marcus, the leader of the coven in New York. Similar to the present day, he had his hair slicked back and was wearing a dark suit. Killian was aware that he and Riley shared a past but he never thought she knew him as a child. Riley helped the boy up from the ground while the younger boy glared at Marcus.

"Emma? What's wrong?" asked David.

"I know him. He was in New York...the guy who attacked us. Riley talked to him at the charity ball but it was like they never met before."

"They clearly have," said Regina.

"You two should be at your lessons, not playing silly little games. Stop encouraging them, Sebastian."

"We were having fun. Maybe if you took the stick out of your butt, you'd know what that is," said Riley, rudely.

"Oh, were you having fun? Enjoying your last few months together before the merge happens and only one of you gets to live? The coven's already got bets on who will win. I personally think that you'll both end up dead because neither of you deserves to win and keep your magic, especially a little monster like him," he replied, his eyes on Seth.

For a moment, the veins under the boy's eyes became more pronounced and his eyes shifted between green and pitch black. Riley squeezed his hand, keeping him calm. She glared at Marcus.

"Don't talk to him like that. If you call him that again, I'll beat you up."

He sniggered. "Will you? What's stopping you now?"

"Stop it. No one's fighting," said Sebastian, standing between them.

"I wasn't aware that your lessons involved standing around, doing nothing," he heard.

A tall dark-haired man walked into the clearing. Marcus seemed to be modeling himself after him, both wearing dark suits and even styling his hair in a similar manner. The man's dark brown eyes were like two black holes of emptiness. Riley and the two boys lowered their heads, looking afraid to even make eye contact with him.

"I suppose we shall start with you fighting Marcus," he said to Riley.

"I—I didn't mean…I was just…"

"The intent was quite clear in your voice. Are you paralyzed from the neck down?"

"N—no, but…I can't—he's a lot older and—"

"Enough. It's a shame we can't feed on cowardice and pathetic excuses. Yours alone would keep us full for months. If you don't wish to fight, it's your choice. Perhaps you'll prefer time in your little box. No mercy, either of you."

Marcus wasted no time, nearly singeing her face with a ball of fire. Riley continuously avoided his attacks by quickly popping up in different spots of the clearing. Considering she was much younger than him, it was understandable that she feared this fight. It was unlikely that she was as skilled as him in magic and only pure luck would help her. Sebastian begged the man to stop the fight, worried that Marcus would honestly kill her and call it an accident. Riley's hand was struck by a jet of red light but she was uninjured, the spell being absorbed under her skin. A ball of light, twice its size, emerged from the palm of her hand and hit Marcus in the face, sending him flying back at least ten feet. Riley stared at her hand, surprised, while Seth cheered loudly.

"In your face, Marc."

Marcus snarled and was prepared to cast another spell until the man held up his hand. That simple gesture stopped the enraged Marcus in his tracks. It was reminiscent of when Marcus himself used that same gesture to halt his followers in New York. Seth was attempting to mimic what she had done moments ago but it merely resulted in him burning his hand. As she healed his wound, a jet of green light struck her back. Riley was slammed roughly into the ground. She winced, rubbing her cheek, and looked at the man, fear in her eyes.

"You know better than to turn your back on an enemy."

"Maybe you should find this guy, Regina. You two would get along really well," said Alec.

Vivienne smacked him upside the head. "Shut up."

The man advanced towards her, his fingers emitting golden sparks. "If you can handle yourself in a fight with your brother, surely you can fight me."

Learning that Riley and Marcus were siblings, the similarities between them became quite clear. Killian assumed that the other boys were her brothers as well but the way they supported her made him even more curious why she considered herself without a family. He understood why she would disregard both Marcus and the man who was obviously her father but she seemed particularly close with Sebastian and Seth. Their surroundings changed, the forest fading, as Riley was struck with another spell by her father. The forest scenery soon turned into the inside of an ornate pub. Riley was nowhere to be seen, though it was admittedly difficult to spot her in such a large crowd. Swan noted that something was off about the memory, indicating the attire and the music.

"They're dressed like—it doesn't make sense. It's like the eighties or something. Maybe it's a theme night. I don't see her. If this is her memory, she should be here, right? I don't get—what the hell?"

Following Swan's gaze, Killian saw Ethan standing by the bar. "Ethan?" said David.

"T—that can't be me. I was stuck under the curse like everyone else. This isn't in Storybrooke. H—how am I here?"

"Maybe you have a twin brother that somehow got sent to this land before you," suggested Alec.

Though the Ethan at the bar looked exactly like the one standing beside Vivienne, there were a few differences in his mannerisms. "Doppelganger."

David looked at Killian, confused. "What?"

"He's a doppelganger. It's a sort of magical twin. They can be born centuries or a few decades apart, sharing the same bloodline."

"I would know if I have a magical twin," said Ethan.

"Not likely. Doppelgangers rarely meet. If they somehow do, it never ends well. I've heard stories of doppelgangers tearing each other apart and in the end, only one remains. They're quite valuable, particularly their blood. Many powerful, ancient spells require doppelganger blood for their completion."

Listening to his conversation with his friends, they learned that the boy's name was Vince. He kept staring at a young blonde girl sitting at the other end of the bar. Killian was shocked to see Gale, Riley's supposedly godlike acquaintance, behind the bar, handing out drinks. He handed a drink to Vince, nodding over towards the girl.

"It's from her?"

"Looks like she's got her eyes on you, kid. I'd be careful though. You never knew who you'll meet in these places."

He laughed. "Lighten up, man. I doubt she's a serial killer or something."

Vince walked over to the girl. Shaking his hand, she introduced herself as Rebecca. Hearing him offer to show her a magic trick, it seemed likely that he was a descendant of one of the covens.

"Are you a magician or something?"

"Much better. Trust me, those losers in Vegas have nothing on me."

"Vince!"

His friends were moving through the crowd. "Sorry about my friends. They like to ruin any chance of me talking to a pretty girl."

To their confusion, the boys passed by them, continuing to call out of his name. "They're really drunk. Ignore them."

"Maybe but it's probably the cloaking spell."

"Did you say—are you like me?"

She smiled. "Oh, there's no one like me. I'm one of a kind…sort of like you. Doppelgangers are just so rare but useful. I guess that's why you need to hide so well but between you and me, you're doing a bad job."

"H—how could you know that I'm a doppelganger?" he asked, sounding nervous.

"Because I'm the one who told you that you are, silly."

Her short blonde hair, turning ebony, lengthened past her shoulders and she grew a few inches in height. Within seconds, Riley had taken her place. Killian remembered her using a similar trick in the Enchanted Forest when she posed as one of her captors. All the color drained from his face and he looked like he was in front of a fearsome dragon.

"N—no, you can't—the—you—the explosion…the—that's not poss—you can't be here."

He stumbled, leaning against the counter. "I think those pills Gale put in your drink are staring to work."

As he pulled a knife from his coat pocket, she smashed a glass in his face, knocking him unconscious. Their surroundings changed once more to a cemetery at night. Vince was standing at the entrance with another boy, with short dark brown hair and some stubble, and as the boy moved his hand towards the gate, an invisible shield repelled him. Riley walked out of a nearby mausoleum, wearing a short, sleeveless black dress and heels.

"I'll admit it was a clever idea. Casting a barrier spell that lasts until the sun comes up and doing it right before the blood moon takes away your magic. It's the first time that I thought you actually have a brain. What wasn't so smart was keeping yourselves stuck in here too."

Vince glared at her. "We're fine as long as the spell keeps you trapped. We might reconsider letting you out of here alive if you tell us where you hid the emerald."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Try to sound threatening. You're terrible at it. You can say that you'll kill me a million times but you don't have the guts to do it. You're too much of a coward. Perseus wasn't like that. He was your other doppelganger, much more handsome and so brave. Fighting gorgons and sea monsters…they've even written stories about him. Can you top that? Probably not. You don't even care that your precious girlfriend has been trying to call you for the past hour. I bet it's because she started bleeding out of nowhere. Do you think it's because someone cast a linking spell so that anything happening to them would happen to her?"

"What did you do?"

"Have you gotten dumber with age? I just told you. I'm sure she'll live but what a nasty shock. She doesn't even know about magic, right? How are you going to explain that to her?"

"Leave Olivia alone. She has nothing to do with this."

"No, but it's fun to see that panic in your eyes."

"Don't let her get to you," whispered the boy.

"Why do you want that emerald, Jack? I'm curious. You can barely levitate a feather so there's no way you can handle all that power. Are you getting it for _him_? Not a good idea. I'm guessing that he promised to help you take back control of your coven in New Orleans but he'll just betray you."

"Maybe he'll hold up his end if I bring him your dead body, Alice."

"You really have no idea what it's all about, do you? He wants me very much alive. We have our little spats every now and then but in the end, he's never been able to hurt me with his own two hands. He always sends someone else to do the job."

Killian assumed that the _him _in the conversation was referring to whoever was searching for her. While these memories should have explained more about Riley, it only led to more questions. Vince seemed equally confused by her suggestion that this man did not want her dead. Riley had spent years hiding from him and it was strange that she was avoiding someone who had no intention of harming her. He questioned her own interest in the emerald.

"I remember you trading it with the Salem coven. It wasn't yours at all, was it? You stole it from someone else and traded it to fake your death in that fire."

"There's the smart little Collins I remember. It was a perfect plan except I forgot just how powerful one's obsession can be sometimes. If it wasn't for you, I would've gotten away with no problem."

"You gave it away but now you want it back. Why? To get rid of him for good?"

"Have I mentioned how glad I am that you've realized that you have no chance and you moved on? Maybe if you were like this back then, it would've worked out in your favor. Don't be embarassed. You're not the first or the worst to get obsessed over me."

"If he doesn't want to kill you, why do you keep running from him?"

"What do you care?" asked Jack, throwing pebbles at the invisible barrier.

"He was in Salem that night in 1910. There were rumors that he was heading that way and then suddenly, he was seen in London. You came up with that elaborate ruse to fake your death just to get him off your trail."

"1910? What the hell is he talking about? Riley's only twenty," said Swan.

"Something's not right about these memories," said David.

Light shined on one side of the mausoleum. Riley twisted her hand, pointing it towards the red tinted moon, and as it slowly faded away, the sun rose into the sky. She transported herself outside the cemetery and the moon reappeared, covering the cemetery in darkness. Vince attempted to leave the cemetery but was knocked back by the invisible barrier.

"These blood moons have no effect on me. I was only pretending to get exactly what I wanted."

"W—what are you talking about?" asked Vince.

"I don't give a damn about that emerald. It's not the right time yet. All that time spent interrogating me and you never realized that I was poking around inside your heads. Now I get why you're so protective of that girl. Don't worry. I won't kill her but she might not have much of a voice left when you see her again. Have fun being stuck here for another five hours."

As the memory ended, they were brought back to her room. Killian glanced at the collection of jars in the closet. One of them contained two strands of skin, golden in color. Swan and her father were arguing over the most puzzling thing in the memories: the mention of Riley being alive for decades. She adamantly denied that Riley was alive for that many years, suggesting that they misheard the date or Riley purposely altered the memories in case someone opened the journal. Though it was not too unlikely that Riley would cast such a spell as a joke, to mess with their heads, David believed that she was older than she appeared, keeping herself young with magic. His theory was not unheard of, considering there were known spells to delay aging or places like Neverland where time was frozen. Their argument was cut short by the room shaking, an effect of the activated trigger.

Killian left the room with David to retrieve the magic beans. Getting in a metal carriage, they headed over to the cannery, Greg and Tamara's hideout. After a short fight with Greg, he managed to grab one of the beans.

"We need to get back to the diner. We don't have much time," said David, stowing his pistol in his back pocket.

Killian felt something soft under the heel of his boot as they left the cannery. Glancing down, he spotted Riley's leather bracelet, which he had never seen her without since he first met her. He picked up the bracelet, noticing a slight tear in the leather.

"Renato was here. They must've taken her somewhere else."

"Maybe she already escaped and she's at the diner."

His tone was quite apathetic. Killian opened the door to the metal carriage.

"You don't seem very concerned, mate."

"That girl is nothing but secrets on top of secrets. I don't trust her at all. For all I know, she planned for Emma to be her so-called protector for her own reasons. What I saw in those memories just confirm my thoughts about her."

Most of the town was gathered inside the diner, prepared to leave for the Enchanted Forest. There was no sign of Riley, meaning that she was either on her own or still a captive. Regina remained down in the mines, suppressing the trigger with her magic and willing to let herself die in order for the rest of them to escape safely. Killian silently scoffed at their foolish plan to throw the trigger into the portal, using the only bean left and risking their lives on an idea that had a high chance of failure. He hid the bean in the pocket of his coat and pretended to be swayed by Swan's speech. His feigned empathy nearly became real when he learned that Baelfire, who had been shot by Tamara and fell through another portal earlier that day, was Henry's father.

"If you see Riley, tell her to meet us in the mines. I'll keep calling her."

Handing her the empty pouch, he left the diner and headed for his ship. If they wanted to die, it was not his concern. He began to sail away from the docks, his eyes drifting to a scratched out etching by the wheel that he once used to teach Baelfire. Instead of thinking of his next adventure in the Enchanted Forest, his mind was cluttered with old memories of their short time together before he was handed over to the Lost Boys. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the bean and accidentally also grabbed the leather bracelet. He thought back to the last time he saw her at the cannery. She had admitted to not wanting to leave him behind in New York and even claimed that he was a better person than her.

"Bloody hell," he muttered.

Turning the wheel, he sailed back towards the town…

~Emma~

Emma was down in the mines, combining her magic with Regina's to stop the trigger. It was their only shot at saving the town since Hook disappeared with the magic bean. She hoped that Riley would show up at the last minute to destroy the trigger completely but there was still no sign of her. Henry kept calling her on his phone in the hopes that she escaped from wherever Greg and Tamara were holding her hostage. A short blast from the diamond sent her and Regina flying in opposite directions. David and Mary Margaret helped her up while Regina grabbed the deactivated trigger.

"We did it."

"Yes, we did," said Regina, relieved.

David smiled. "I have to give it to Henry. He's right about a lot of things."

As Emma turned around, she realized that Henry was not in the mines, his backpack on the ground. They hurried over to the cannery and spotted Henry by the docks with Greg and Tamara. An unconscious Riley was slung over Greg's shoulder, a black cuff clasped around her wrist. It was the same cuff used to restrict Regina's magic. A portal was swirling in the water and before they could stop them, the four of them disappeared through the portal. David stopped her from jumping into the water after them. Regina pointed out that Hook had stolen the last bean, their only way to create a portal. Gold and Belle, with her memories returned, arrived at the docks. Despite being the all-powerful Dark One, he was unable to create another portal to rescue Henry.

"What is that?" asked Belle.

Emma was surprised to see Hook's ship sailing towards the town. He handed her a black pouch.

"I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself."

"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could."

The magic bean fell into her hand. She told Hook about Henry and Riley being taken through the portal. For a moment, she thought he looked concerned when she mentioned Riley. She doubted that their rescue mission would end well after Gold insisted on accompanying them through the portal, thanks to his rivalry with Hook. Though they put aside their differences for the mission, it did not erase the heavy tension between them. As they boarded the ship, Gold conjured a globe and pricked his finger on the needle on the top. A drop of blood dripped onto the globe and differently shaped lands appeared in the form of dark red mist. Hook and Gold shared a similar grim expression.

"Where is that? Where did they take Henry?" asked Regina.

"Neverland," said Hook.

"Well, let's not waste the time. The longer we wait, the—"

A snowy owl perched itself on top of the globe, its yellow eyes on Emma. It stuck out its leg, an envelope tied around it with red ribbon.

"I believe that's for you, Swan."

Reluctantly, she opened the envelope and jumped as it floated in mid-air, taking the form of a man's face.

"Miss Swan, you have failed in your duties as a guardian," said the same booming voice that had once filled Riley's room.

She looked at David and Snow, who were both dumbfounded. "Your parents cannot help you in this matter."

"You can see—this isn't weird at all. She's not dead. Riley's just…somewhere else."

"She is not meant to be on that island. The council has taken many precautions to prevent her from traveling there."

"It's not Emma's fault. She—"

"Silence, shepherd. This matter does not concern you," he said to David.

"Look, I'll get her back. We're heading there now. She'll be fine. You don't have to worry," assured Emma.

"If you do not return her within six days, it will not only be your life at its end but this town many consider their home."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You don't have to destroy an entire town because—"

The letter exploded in a cloud of silver dust. Emma was unsure why they needed to return Riley to Storybrooke within six days but she knew that if the council was willing to destroy a town, it meant something bad. As they prepared to sail to Neverland, she wondered if the person that Riley was hiding from all these years was another inhabitant on that island…


End file.
